The Summer of Naked Swim Parties : A Novel
Author(s): Jessica Anya Blau
“This book will make you laugh and cry in public.” —Larry Doyle, author of I Love You, Beth Cooper
Jessica Anya Blau's passionate and poignant debut novel of one girl’s coming of age in 1970s southern California, replete with stoners, hippies, surfers, bitchy girlfriends, first love, first heartbreak, and OPI shorts
Jamie Green will remember “the summer of naked swim parties” for the rest of her life. It’s the summer in which she has her first serious boyfriend, Flip, who is three years older and comes with friends for Jamie’s friends; it’s the summer in which Jamie’s older sister is away at Outward Bound, leaving Jamie with her parents (and very often the house) to herself; it’s the summer in which Jamie’s parents throw naked swim parties, leaving Jamie cringing with embarrassment. And it’s the summer in which Jamie will be forced to confront love, loss, family, and heartbreak for the very first time.
Review(s):
“Sadly, not a photo essay, but rather a witty account of the agonies and ecstasies of a girl coming of age in late-seventies California.”
“High and low comedy, nude swimming, and familial frenzy float through [The Summer of Naked Swim Parties] like pot smoke.”
“Reading this heartfelt and humorous coming-of-age story is the perfect way to spend a hot summer day.”
“A fantastic beach read about painful adolescence in the 1970s.”
“Jessica Anya Blau’s debut novel, The Summer of Naked Swim Parties, is a delight: a California beach girl’s hilariously painful adolescence in the High 1970s.”
“You may think you’ve heard this story before, but no one tells it as wittily, winningly, wisely and well as Jessica Anya Blau.”
“It’s hard to recall a debut as warm, charming and comically satisfying . . . . Blau conveys Jamie’s world with compelling insight and wit . . . . [Blau’s] sharp observation and affectionate humor [give] surprising depth to this shimmering novel.”
“Recovered Judy Blume addicts, brace yourselves for a relapse: Jessica Anya Blau’s debut novel, set in Santa Barbara, California, during the summer of ’76, is a poignant, gleeful ode to the turbulence of growing up . . . [A] dead-on portrayal of the simple yet shocking revelations of youth.”
“Funny and charming, moving and sweet—Jessica Anya Blau beautifully captures the awkwardness and the wonder of coming of age. The Summer of Naked Swim Parties is a remarkable debut novel.”
“Move over, summer of love. Here comes the summer of naked swim parties . . . [Blau] knows adolescence inside out . . . [S]he skewers what needs skewering and celebrates the rest with humor, style, and an appropriate degree of affection.”
ISBN: 9780061452024