The Shore

Jersey Shore native Runde evokes the precariousness of coastal life, and all life, in her first novel. Seaside, NJ, follows the seasons like boats follow tides, but as summer approaches, one local family’s fortune is at an all-time ebb. Margot and daughters Liz and Evy are caught between anticipating the future without dad Brian and grieving a living man transformed by aggressive brain cancer. Narrators Andi Arndt, Priya Ayyar, Dan Bittner, and Inés del Castill give voice to each family member, revealing their unique inner turmoil and coping strategies. Bittner as Brian provides a particularly moving demonstration of the faculties lost to his brain tumor. As the present storm surfaces flotsam from their past, Margot’s favorite book, The Girl with the Long Shadow, a story about going back in time to change the future, helps the girls better understand their mother. Runde’s boardwalk setting gives Evy and Liz a sanctuary from reheated “inevitable death casseroles” and abounds with authentic, lived detail—a high point.