The Summer of Naked Swim Parties: A Novel

Jessica Anya Blau

Jul 2008 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

“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.

Ratings and reviews

I couldn't get my head out of this book. Interesting and funny. Something I wouldn't want me younger sister to read although I liked it.

This book reminds me of teen peer pressure and the importance of being "in" with the popular crowd and the pain of being out of the "group." Blau captures this perfectly.

Fine

About the author

Jessica Anya Blau was born in Boston and raised in Southern California. Her novels have been featured on The Today Show, CNN and NPR, and in Cosmo, Vanity Fair, Bust, Time Out, Oprah Summer Reads and other national publications. Jessica's short stories and essays have been published in numerous magazines, journals and anthologies. Jessica co-wrote the script for Love on the Run starring Frances Fisher and Steve Howey. She sometimes works as a ghost writer and has taught writing at Johns Hopkins University, Goucher College and The Fashion Institute of Technology. Jessica lives in New York.