Don't Forget To Write by Sara Goodman Confino

Don't Forget To Write

by Sara Goodman Confino

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Book Blurb:

In 1960, a young woman discovers a freedom she never knew existed in this exhilarating, funny, and emotional novel by the bestselling author of She’s Up to No Good.

When Marilyn Kleinman is caught making out with the rabbi’s son in front of the whole congregation, her parents ship her off to her great-aunt Ada for the summer. If anyone can save their daughter’s reputation, it’s Philadelphia’s strict premier matchmaker. Either that or Marilyn can kiss college goodbye.

To Marilyn’s surprise, Ada’s not the humorless septuagenarian her mother described. Not with that platinum-blonde hair, Hermès scarf, and Cadillac convertible. She’s sharp, straight-talking, takes her job very seriously, and abides by her own rules…mostly. As the summer unfolds, Ada and Marilyn head for the Jersey shore, where Marilyn helps Ada scope out eligible matches—for anyone but Marilyn, that is.

Because if there’s one thing Marilyn’s learned from Ada, it’s that she doesn’t have to settle. With the school year quickly approaching and her father threatening to disinherit her, Marilyn must make her choice for her future: return to the comfortable life she knows or embrace a risky, unknown path on her own.

Review:

I enjoyed this book.  I wasn't sure I would, at first, but the more I read, the better I liked the book.  Marilyn is a rebellious young woman from a strict home with a father who believes women are meant to be married and have kids and nothing else.  She gets in trouble and is sent off to her aunt's house.  Her aunt models an assertive woman who charts her own course and is respected.  Marilyn learns there is a world that is a lot wider than her father's world out there just waiting for her.  Will she make the leap?   If you like coming-of-age stories, you will probably like this one.  While not a romance, per se, it has romance and a happy ending.  I would read something else by this author.

 

She's Up To No Good by Sara Goodman Confino

 

By Sara Goodman Confino 

Contemporary Romance

Amazon

Book Blurb:

For two women generations apart, going home will change their lives in this funny, poignant, and life-affirming novel about family, secrets, and broken hearts by the author of For the Love of Friends.

Four years into her marriage, Jenna is blindsided when her husband asks for a divorce. With time on her hands and her life in flux, she agrees to accompany her eccentric grandmother Evelyn on a road trip to the seaside Massachusetts town where much of their family history was shaped.

When they hit the road, Evelyn spins the tale of the star-crossed teenage romance that captured her heart more than seventy years ago and changed the course of her life. She insists the return to her hometown isn’t about that at all—no matter how much she talks about Tony, her unforgettable and forbidden first love.

Upon arrival, Jenna meets Tony’s attentive great-nephew Joe. The new friendship and fresh ocean air give her the confidence and distance she needs to begin putting the pain of a broken marriage behind her.

As the secrets and truths of Evelyn’s past unfold, Jenna discovers a new side of her grandmother, and of herself, that she never knew existed—and learns that the possibilities for healing can come at the most unexpected times in a woman’s life.

Review:

I enjoyed this book.  The grandmother, Evelyn, is exasperating and loving at the same time and her quest is just what is needed to show her granddaughter, Jenna, how to live again.  Jenna also learns things about her family, and her grandmother, she never knew that change her perceptions of the family and the world they came from.  

This book is well worth reading, especially if you find yourself a little too comfortable in the rut you are in.  The book will inspire you to get out of your rut and find a new way to see the people and world around you.