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Florence Adler Swims Forever  By  cover art

Florence Adler Swims Forever

By: Rachel Beanland
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Tim Paige, Carly Robins, Jonathan Todd Ross, Tara Sands, Jesse Vilinsky, Gabra Zackman, Rachel Beanland
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Publisher's summary

“The perfect summer read” (USA Today) begins with a shocking tragedy that results in three generations of the Adler family grappling with heartbreak, romance, and the weight of family secrets across the course of one summer.

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice

One of USA Today’s “Best Books of 2020”

One of Good Morning America’s “25 Novels You'll Want to Read This Summer”

One of Parade’s “26 Best Books to Read This Summer”

Atlantic City, 1934. Every summer, Esther and Joseph Adler rent their house out to vacationers escaping to “America’s Playground” and move into the small apartment above their bakery. Despite the cramped quarters, this is the apartment where they raised their two daughters, Fannie and Florence, and it always feels like home.

Now Florence has returned from college, determined to spend the summer training to swim the English Channel, and Fannie, pregnant again after recently losing a baby, is on bedrest for the duration of her pregnancy. After Joseph insists they take in a mysterious young woman whom he recently helped emigrate from Nazi Germany, the apartment is bursting at the seams.

Esther only wants to keep her daughters close and safe, but some matters are beyond her control: there’s Fannie’s risky pregnancy - not to mention her always-scheming husband, Isaac - and the fact that the handsome heir of a hotel notorious for its anti-Semitic policies seems to be in love with Florence.

When tragedy strikes, Esther makes the shocking decision to hide the truth - at least until Fannie’s baby is born - and pulls the family into an elaborate web of secret-keeping and lies, bringing long-buried tensions to the surface that reveal how quickly the act of protecting those we love can turn into betrayal.

“Readers of Emma Straub and Curtis Sittenfeld will devour this richly drawn debut family saga” (Library Journal) that’s based on a true story and is a breathtaking portrayal of how the human spirit can endure - and even thrive - after tragedy.

©2020 Rachel Beanland (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

What listeners say about Florence Adler Swims Forever

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I did not want it to end

Throughout the novel we are posed with a question. Will you lie? What damage will it do?
Each chapter is in the voice of the characters making up this important story so we are able to feel their perspective.
It is lovely. I did not want these people to leave my life.

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26 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great read!

I can picture Florence Adler swimming forever in the memories of her family. This was a wonderful family story that captures the reader immediately. It is a book where you don’t want to stop reading until the very end.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Overall, a bit anticlimatic

I enjoyed the story while I was listening to it, but I began to realize at about the half-way point that the characters were rather flat; none of them seemed to have much emotional depth. The most intriguing character was Florence, and since she dies in the first chapter, we only get to know about her through the memories of others, and those memories tended to idealize her. The ending of the story, after all the subterfuge, seemed anti-climatic. It’s hard to rate narration with multiple narrators. Some were excellent, others were just ok.

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2 people found this helpful

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Wonderful read

Well written-beautiful story. Recommend highly, a quick read, maybe have a tissue or two…

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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great story but should have been condensed

Very interesting. I loved the story but way too long and detailed in places. I still recommend.

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  • Overall
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  • JZ
  • 06-29-23

Great summer read!

I truly enjoyed the characters in this book! Add it to your summer reading list.

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Great story

This my first review...
I really liked the we story and the way they we novel flipped between characters. It is with ty he listen.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Uh This Atmosphere

I fell in love with just about every aspect of this story! I just wish there was another month of stories!!! Absolutely beautiful. While a part of the world was terrified, the rest of the world was just living with a shadow looming over them. This time period is the most heartbreaking!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved It

Was an amazing story, loved the different voices thru each character. Little Gussy was fun.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved It

This is one the best books I've listened to. The narration is perfect. The characters are all very well developed. I have my favorites, but there is something redeeming about even the not-so-likable characters. The story moves at a good pace. The story has some very sad parts, and they are addressed and very present; but the ending is happy, not sappy.

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