Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book): Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, their lives will change forever.
Malibu: August, 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned phot
ographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva.
The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.
Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.
And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.
By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.
Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them... and what they will leave behind.
MY OPINION: ****
As a self-proclaimed Taylor Jenkins Reid stan, I knew I had to get my hands on this one as soon as possible, especially since it happens to be all the rage ever since it was released. The paperback version was just released, so I knew it was time for me to start and finish this highly anticipated read of mine, given that it's summer and the perfect time for this book.
I really enjoyed this book. I've been learning gradually that I am more of a fan of TJR's older books but that her newer writing is still wonderful, just different. I think she has grown a lot as a writer and her books have definitely become more complex and veered strictly into the literary fiction zone, whereas before, she was toeing the line between literary fiction and romance a bit more. I am usually not the biggest fan of this genre but I've been trying to read more of it lately and enjoyed this one more than expected.
A lot of people say this book is fairly underwhelming, which I cannot deny. I think it had a lot of potential and it fell just a bit short of that goal. However, I don't think this book was bad by any means and I loved the story it told, even if it at times felt a bit slow-paced. I still finished this book in a day, despite some bland areas here and there.
The story follows four famous siblings and their respective journeys in Malibu as they try to form their own individual careers and personas.
It's mostly centered on Nina Riva, a beautiful surfer who the media can't seem to portray as anything beyond her physical appearance. I loved Nina's character, and how flawed and complex she was. I don't necessarily think she was the most likable person but she definitely appealed to me with her pessimistic personality and cynical worldview. She's used to having to take care of her siblings and shoulder the responsibility of a parent after her own abandon her or go off the rails. She reminded me a lot of Shameless's Fiona Gallagher, with that sort of defiance and fierce love for her siblings while still trying to grow up herself.
The rest of the siblings each have their own issues they are dealing with, from falling in love to trying to prove themselves as individual people independent of their father's fame. I liked reading about each character and seeing how they grew and developed over the book, a quite impressive feat since the book is mostly told over the same twenty-four hours.
I usually am not a fan of books that go back and forth between the present and the past but I was willing to excuse it in this book merely because the flashbacks were so interesting and compelling. It reads like a biopic where we get to see how each character got to where they are and how the relationships and family ties have fallen apart or grown stronger over time. I also love the eras the book portrayed and would have loved to have seen more of the setting and surrounding society. This book is very character-driven, which I loved but wished we could have seen more of the world-building aspect, since there was a lot of potential in that 80s era.
Mick Riva makes an appearance in TJR's books once again. This time, we really get to delve deeper into his character and his screw-ups as a dad as he struggles to balance his addictions, fame, relationships, and messed-up life trajectory.
In the present, each sibling is going through a myriad of issues that they try to mask with their annual end-of-the-summer party, full of A-list celebrities, "influencers," and anyone else who manages to snag an invite. I loved the party setting but wished we got to actually SEE more of it, since the book seemed to center a lot more around the hours before the actual event.
Kit deserved better. I hated how her own siblings still saw her as a baby and refused to open their eyes to how talented and amazing she was as her own person independent of her siblings. The relationship between Jay and Hud was adorable and I loved seeing their brotherly bond, even when things got hard.
The ending was a lot to take in. It felt oddly rushed but also slow-paced and while it wasn't the most jaw-dropping, shocking, revolutionary conclusion, it felt very finished and complete. I liked how it all went down. Once again, it reminded me a lot of Shameless. I loved seeing the dynamic between each Riva sibling with their dad, because they each had their own reactions to his attempts at rebuilding a relationship, and rightfully so. I loved how this helped us to see the differences between each character and how they treated the situation at hand in their own ways. It felt very real and open, and I loved the ending, which I have heard is fairly controversial, as many think it was anticlimactic. I think for a literary fiction novel that is emulating more of a biopic of certain people, it was a rightful ending and fit the story very well.
Overall, I wouldn't say this was my all-time favorite TJR book but it certainly didn't let me down. I'm excited for her upcoming books and am still trying to get through the rest of her novels before the end of this year. I would recommend this book to people looking for a literary fiction novel with a very summer-y vibe and character-driven writing.
Main Character: Nina, Jay, Hud, Kit
Sidekick(s): Mick(?), friends, family, etc
Villain(s): Mick(?), misunderstandings, death, abandonment, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.
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