The Vacationers

 The Vacationers is a thoroughly modern novel by Emma Straub. It's about a New York family on vacation in Mallorca, Spain. So if you can't go on vacation this summer just google Mallorca images and you will wish you were there! Franny and Jim Post are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary and their daughter's graduation from high school. I enjoyed this book. It is really about family and the people we make our family. A great beach book.

   Jim kissed Franny on the forehead, which Sylvia and Bobby pretended not to see. All four Posts held their breath simultaneously, each wishing for the moment to last. Families were nothing more than hope cast out in a wide net, everyone wanting only the best. Even the poor souls who had children in an attempt to rescue a dying marriage were doing so out of the misguided hopefulness. Franny and Jim and Bobby and Sylvia did their silent best, and just like that, for a moment, they were all aboard the same ship. 

This isn't Mallorca but it ain't half bad either.

A Touch of Stardust

I didn't intend on reading two books in a row that take place during World War 2...I read the first chapter and I was hooked. I really enjoyed A Touch of Stardust. If you love old Hollywood you will relish this novel. It takes place during the filming of Gone With The Wind. 1939 was a BIG year for Hollywood. Along with Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith goes to Washington were all made that year. Kate Alcott's attention to detail is wonderful. The characters are likable and timeless.