The Summer of Naked Swim Parties
Nick Hornby adored Blau’s Wonder Bread Summer in a recent column for The Believer. He liked it so much that I opted for Blau’s first book.
This is a slight but interesting book about a slight but interesting girl. Jamie’s 14. Her sister Renee, who is 16, hates her. Her parents are hedonistic boomers who annoy both girls with their pot smoking and their naked swim parties. Jamie’s mother is open and uninhibited about sex, which drives Jamie nuts. Jamie has cool friends and a cool boyfriend and Renee is headed for Outward Bound, and so everything is set up for her summer to come completely unglued.