Title: Malibu Rising
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Release Date: June 1, 2021
Length: 369 pages
Genre: General Fiction
***My Review***
Malibu Rising tells the tale of a family’s extraordinary night, a night when each member must make decisions about what to keep and what to let go….
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid appears to be nothing extraordinary at first sight. It’s a story about functioning and dysfunctional relationships within families wrapped up in a party atmosphere, which is nothing new in the literary world. Another novel on family drama. But, unlike many other books, this one manages to draw you into its plot and retain your interest until the conclusion.
The author transports us to 1983 in gorgeous Malibu, where four renowned siblings host a spectacular party to celebrate the end of summer. But their lives will alter forever in 24 hours.
The iconic musician Mick Riva’s children Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit are preparing for their yearly celebration. Nina, the oldest of the four, is the only one who is not looking forward to the end-of-summer celebration even though it is a tradition. After experiencing the separation from her professional tennis player spouse, Nina longs to temporarily escape the pressure of the spotlight.
The celebration got out of hand by midnight, and by dawn, Malibu was on fire. What truly took place?
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid is told through two intertwined narrative threads, beginning with a more recent scenario, the day of the party, which is intriguing but then switching to a historical plot line. The readers are led through the day of the party, hour by hour, building up to the yearly party. The second plotline is the character’s motivational past. How they got to where they were before the celebration.
The writing is exquisite and evocative. The storytelling simply pulls you into the story. This book’s intricate relationships and familial affection captivated me. It reminded me of how much my own family means to me.
However, I became perplexed as to who all of the minor individuals at the party were. As the party progresses, we switch from reading completely from the Rivas’ views to reading brief small pieces from a slew of random partygoers, and it all felt a bit fragmented to me.
There were too many ancillary characters, which somewhat distracted the story’s main theme. I don’t know if we needed to know about all of them, and I found their introduction and side issues to be a little difficult to understand.
Having said that, I must say that I liked the powerful female characters who fill this story, as I do with all of her works. Nina won my heart with her remarkable strength and willingness to make sacrifices for the individuals who meant the most to her.
The characters were strengthened by the flipped narrative and generational flashbacks, which also increased the tensions already there and added to the reader’s sense of unease.
Everything is planned and fits together well. It didn’t have the same emotional impact on me as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo or Daisy Jones. Nevertheless, Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid is an engaging read, and I’m sure many other people will enjoy it too.