What intrigued me about Rachel Beanland's Florence Adler Swims Forever was 1) the setting - Atlantic City, NJ and 2) it's based on a true story. The author took a family story and embellished it to create a novel about truth and lies, dreams, family, and what it was like to be Jewish in the 1930s.The Adler family is tested over the course of the summer of 1934. Beloved daughter and avid swimmer Florence drowns in the ocean. But her mother, Esther, doesn't want Florence's older sister Fannie to know because Fannie is bedridden in the hospital with a high-risk pregnancy. So the Adlers, the hospital staff, and even the newspapers keep the news a secret. But keeping this secret ends up uncovering other secrets.
Compounding the drama of the death is the arrival of Anna, the daughter of Joseph Adler's long-lost friend from Hungary. And Fannie's husband Isaac, not content with what he has, tries to get rich quick in a risky Florida real estate scheme.
The story is told through alternative points of view so that all the characters get a say about the events of that summer. But I was a little disappointed at the end because it seemed like one character got cheated. I suppose the story had to end somewhere. No spoilers, so please do read this book and tell me what you thought!
Florence Adler Swims Forever is published by Simon & Schuster and is on bookstore shelves now. (Was just published yesterday!) I received a free e-ARC for this review.
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