Boardwalk summer : a novel
(Book)

Includes appendix "P.S. Insights, interviews & more . . .", including reading group guide.

When Violet Harcourt is crowned Miss California 1940 on the boardwalk of her hometown, she knows she is one step closer to her cherished dream: a Hollywood screen test. But Violet's victory comes with a price--discord in her seemingly perfect marriage--and she grapples with how much more she is willing to pay. Summer 2007: Single mother Marisol Cruz lives with her parents in the charming beach cottage that belonged to her grandfather, Ricardo, once a famed performer on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Drawn to the town's local history and the quaint gazebo where her grandparents danced beneath the stars, Mari sells raffle tickets at the Beach Boardwalk Centennial Celebration, and meets Jason, a California transplant from Chicago. When Mari discovers the obituary of Violet Harcourt, a beauty queen who died too young, she and Jason are sent on a journey together that will uncover her grandfather's lifelong secret--his connection to Violet--a story of tragedy and courage that will forever transform them.