Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: July 29, 2009
Format: Kobo ereader
Pages: - 
ISBN: 978 0061957659

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry – lonely, friendless, not too good at sports – 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 – 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 posses 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 – especially those we love – above ourselves.  And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.

My Thoughts

Told from the point of view of Henry Johnson, who is now married and has a family of his own, tells the story of the Labor Day weekend when he was 13.  I had seen the trailer for the movie and thought it looked fantastic and was basing my expectations on that.  The book however disappointed me quite a bit and feel like this could be a movie that I like more than the book...hate when that happens.

Three quarters of the book describes an adolescent on the verge of puberty wanting to discover the opposite sex.  The other twenty percent was about how emotionally damaged Adele was - and the last five percent was about Frank.  I would have liked more Frank.  Although somewhat unrealistic at times, I really enjoyed that aspect of the novel.

Looking forward to Hollywood's spin on just an ok novel.

My Rating: «««

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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.