With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, 13-year-old Henry amp;ndash; lonely, friendless, not too good at amp;ndash; spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates.
For company, Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele amp;ndash; a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy.
Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart. But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others amp;ndash; especially those we love amp;ndash; above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.
In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's Atonement and Nick Hornby's About a Boy, acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery as seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy amp;ndash; and the man he later becomes amp;ndash; looking back at an unexpected encounter that begins one single, long, hot, life-altering weekend.
A HarperAudio production.
With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, 13-year-old Henry amp;ndash; lonely, friendless, not too good at amp;ndash; spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates.
For company, Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele amp;ndash; a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy.
Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart. But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others amp;ndash; especially those we love amp;ndash; above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.
In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's Atonement and Nick Hornby's About a Boy, acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery as seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy amp;ndash; and the man he later becomes amp;ndash; looking back at an unexpected encounter that begins one single, long, hot, life-altering weekend.
A HarperAudio production.
Labor Day: A Novel
Labor Day: A Novel
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940170180486 |
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Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
Publication date: | 09/18/2021 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
Sales rank: | 784,778 |
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