It is summer 1941, in Fascist Trieste, Italy. One night,
after curfew, while quietly reading in her room, Adelia
Monteforte, 16, is surprised when her politically active
mother appears and tells her, "Come. We must leave."
Peddling her bike with Addie on the handlebars,
they arrive at the busy dock. It is teeming with people
boarding a rickety ship. Her mother pushes them to the
front of the line and hands the officer some papers and
coins, telling him something Addie cannot hear. Turning to
her daughter, she tells Addie, "You have to go to America
now. Your papa and I will follow." With a quick hug to
Addie, her mother leaves. Frightened and alone, Addie
obeys her mother and sails to America. Upon her arrival
there she is met by her Aunt Bess and Uncle Moris.
Childless with no clue on how to raise a teenager, they
take her to their summer rental apartment on the shore at
Atlantic City. At the shore, Uncle Meyer travels during
the week selling pots and pans. Aunt Bess keeps busy
playing Mah-jongg or canasta. Addie prefers to be alone
and read.
One afternoon, a station wagon pulls into the driveway next
door. Addie watches a pretty woman with strawberry-blond
hair get out of the car followed by three brown haired boys
and a dog. Finally an older boy emerges and her heart
stops. His hair "seemed to glow gold in the morning
sun." So begins her love affair with the Connally family
and its eldest son, Charlie, the golden boy filled with
dreams and aspirations. Is Addie to become part of that
destiny? They become close and on the following
Thanksgiving Day they plan to tell their parents they want
to become engaged. That day a horrific tragedy occurs and
the seemingly idyllic family is ripped apart and disappear
from her life. Unable to find them and uncertain what to
do with her future, she takes a bus to Washington, DC taking
with her a camera given to her by her uncle and her
graduation money. Working in a secretarial pool at the
Washington Post, she comes to her boss' attention when he
needs a translator and Addie comes to his aid. Eager to
get involved in the war raging in Europe, she gets
transferred to the London office, working for Teddy White,
a hot-shot correspondent who falls in love with Addie.
Addie's thrilling journeys, her life in London during the
devastating and dangerous bombings, is well chronicled.
Always following her heart, I find some of her decisions
fool hardy and lost patience with her choices several
times. In the end, Addie returns to Chelsea Beach where it
all began. There, right under her nose, is the love she
has been searching for. What a sweet surprise!
Historical fiction is my favorite genre and THE LAST SUMMER
AT CHELSEA BEACH goes to the top of my list of best reads.
It is beautifully told with characters that will touch your
heart and keep remembering after you close the book. Pam
Jenoff encompasses family, friendships, second chances, the
power of healing and finally forgiveness. A great read
that I recommend to everyone who loves history, an exciting
heroine, a romantic story with a surprising and happy
ending that tugged at my heart. Brava!
Young Adelia Montforte
flees
fascist Italy for America, where she is whisked away to
the
shore by her well-meaning aunt and uncle. Here, she meets
and falls for Charlie Connally, the eldest of the four
Irish-Catholic boys next door. But all hopes for a future
together are soon throttled by the war and a tragedy that
hits much closer to home.
Grief-stricken,
Addie
flees—first to Washington and then to war-torn London—and
finds a position at a prestigious newspaper, as well as a
chance to redeem lost time, lost family…and lost love.
But
the past always nips at her heels, demanding to be
reckoned
with. And in a final, fateful choice, Addie discovers
that
the way home may be a path she never suspected.
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