A former beauty queen faces the secrets of her past—for herself and the sake of her family’s future—in a heartfelt novel about fate, choices, and second chances.Everything seemed possible in the summer of 1951. Back then Betty Stern was an eighteen-year-old knockout working at her grandparents’ resort. The “Catskills of the Midwest” was the perfect place for Betty to prepare for bigger things. … bigger things. She’d head to college in New York City. Her career as a fashion editor would flourish. On the precipice of a well-planned life, Betty’s future was limitless. She’d enjoy this wondrous last summer at the resort falling deeply in love with an irresistible college boy and competing in the annual Miss South Haven pageant.
Now the choices of that long-ago season still reverberate for Betty, now known as Boop. Especially when her granddaughter comes to her with a dilemma. It echoes Boop’s own past of first love, broken hearts, and faraway dreams. It’s time to finally face the past—for the sake of her family and her own happiness. Maybe in reconciling the life she once imagined with the life she’s lived, she’ll discover it’s never too late for a second chance.
more
I thoroughly enjoyed this dual-time line story that makes for a perfect nostalgic summer read. I found this new-to-me author’s writing style fresh and compelling. The Last Bathing Beauty is a tribute to the resort era, bringing memories of summer holidays and dreams to life under her skillful pen. It is a story of friendship, family and romance. But most importantly it chronicles how a decision made during a carefree moment could change one’s life direction. I absolutely adore dual-time line stories, this did not disappoint. It is told from the perspective of a character reflecting on long-buried secrets and how she battled cultural expectations that shaped and defined her life and legacy. Full of heartwarming characters, this book is story of hope and second chances.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Betty Stern has so much hope and excitement for the summer of 1951! She’s graduating high school and has plans to attend Barnard College in New York to pursue her dreams of becoming a fashion editor in the fall…but first she has the whole summer ahead to have fun and make lifetime memories at her grandparent’s summer resort, Stern’s Summer Resort, where she works and helps them out. Her grandparents have raised Betty since she was a very small girl after her parents abandoned her with them. “The summer Boop was four, her parents had dropped her off in South Haven for the weekend-a weekend that lasted seventeen years.” She is so excited to be spending her last summer with her best friends, Georgia and Doris before going out on her own. The summer has so much promise for a young woman and maybe catching the eye of “a boy who made her heart shudder”. This is her summer with Abe Barsky.
Flash ahead to 2017. After a lifetime of family and life, Betty, who is known as Boop, is together with her best friends once again reminiscing about the summer of 1951 and the events that took place. Her granddaughter, Hannah, is also part of this little group as the memories are being recollected. There are secrets, mystery, and surprises I didn’t expect. The question of what actually happened that summer. What were the events that lead up to the “Miss South Haven” bathing beauty contest and why was it the last one ever held? The story is intertwined between the two time lines in an intriguing and page turning blend with a need to find out what happened.
I love the characters in this book. Betty, as a young girl with zeal and love of life to when she’s an older woman, Boop, who has questions and a desire for Hannah’s life to be different than what hers became. The supporting characters are perfectly intertwined to create a story of connections and relationships that tugged at my heart. As others have said, this story has a Dirty Dancing aura in the resort atmosphere. The writing took me into the scenes and held me there as if I were experiencing it myself. Then jumping into the story of 2017, I felt the emotions of Boop as she faced her past with resolve, painful memories and the desire to bring the truth out after all those years. Ms. Nathan beautifully wove the two stories together to bring it to a surprising ending that touched my heart.
I enjoyed reading this book so very much. It was a great way to escape into another time and place for me. It is wonderfully written with so many passages that speak of what “life” is and what choices can result in the direction a life can go. These two passages were profound to me:
You should own all pieces of your life, good or bad,” Hannah said. “They make up who you are.”
“Sometimes it takes a long time to get things right.” Boop said.”
I want to thank Netgalley, Lake Union and Ms. Nathan for the honor and privilege of reading this wonderfully touching and special story of relationships, family love, forgiveness and hope. All opinions and thoughts in this review are my heartfelt own.
Amy Sue Nathan’s THE LAST BATHING BEAUTY was the perfect read at the perfect time, allowing me to escape my home and visit South Haven, Michigan. Told in a dual timeline, we meet Betty “Boop” Stern at two turning points in her life: 1951 at 18 and a recent high school graduate with plans for the future and 2017, 85 and getting ready to leave behind everything she knows and join her son in California. Before she leaves, she wants to enjoy her lifelong friends with their last visit to her childhood home. When her granddaughter arrives unexpectedly, looking for a haven and advice, it stirs up Boop’s memories of the fateful summer when her life changed in ways she could not expect.
There was so much about this novel that warmed my heart, especially how present-day Boop faces her past and the decisions she made, both on her own and those forced by fate. Nathan takes us back to the far-off summer at the Stern family resort on the lake where Betty is on the verge of stepping into her new life and following the path, she had dreamed about all her life. As the summer progresses, we see just how it is to grow up a woman in the early 1950’s, with family expectations, both as a female and with ethnicity. Although you hear about it still, it is eye-opening to see deeply rooted the individual cultural aspects were and how little choice Betty actually had in her future.
The story is beautifully written with characters I became instantly invested in. The setting was gorgeously described, and I felt like I was there with them. Though I love “Dirty Dancing,” the concept of regularly spending the summer at a resort like this was foreign to me, so I found myself sitting back and enjoying the visit.
This was the first Amy Sue Nathan novel for me, and it has left me wondering how I missed her previous ones. This will be a wonderful summer read, but is great any time, especially if you need an escape from daily life, like we currently do at release date.
Thanks to NetGalley and he publisher for an advanced copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
#TallPoppyWriter #BloomReads #TallPoppyBlogger #LakeUnionPublishing #TheLastBathingBeauty
I love time-slip novels! Ms. Nathan seamlessly weaves the 1950’s with the present. As a pebble tossed on the water, our choices have a ripple effect. Every choice defines us in some way.
I so enjoyed watching the friendship of Bettie, Doris and Georgia. Lifelong friends are a rare and beautiful treasure! Life is richer when lived in community and serving others.
I recommend this book to those who enjoy coming of age novels.
I borrowed a copy through Kindle Unlimited. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
This is the story of Betty Sterns who was raised by her grandparents fell in love with a non-Jewish man and then married a Jewish man. I was intrigued by how she told her story. She tells it to her family as they come to visit her, feelings come back, and life’s choices are second-guessed.
I always find it interesting when someone retells their lives story. They are able to look back and see how choices could have been different, how the choices they made changed the lives they are living now and see how different feelings made a difference in the choices they made. This is true of Betty. While living an amazing life with her grandparents she wanted a different life. She wanted a life where the hired help of the summer would include her, she wanted to love a boy that her grandparents would not accept, and she wanted to win the Miss South Haven pageant. But as she tells her story she realizes that life she did have was wonderful also. She loved her husband, she had an amazing family, and she had a good life.
The dual timelines were easy to follow, the story came together perfectly, and I thought 0f the characters as my friends. I was interested in learning the rest of Betty’s story and I wanted her family and friends to accept her story and make her be okay with what she was remembering. I have become a fan of historical fiction books and this one was exactly what I was looking for.
The Last Bathing Beauty was such a wonderful read! I’m not typically one for historical fiction, but I loved this book.
The story of Betty, her grandparents’ summer resort and her lifelong friends was great. I loved the peek into those old time resorts, such as the one featured in Dirty Dancing. I also enjoyed the in-depth view of Betty and her best friends lives and friendships.
This is definitely a book about friendships, hardships, true love and making the best of things when the situation calls for it. It made me smile and also made me sad for the characters in various places.
If you want a good summer read or a great escape from the current social distancing, The Last Bathing Beauty will fit the bill.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for allowing an ARC at my request. This review and all thoughts are my own.
A great book to read during the quarantine of 2020. What a beautifully written, heartbreaking and heartwarming family story. Told in dual timeline of 1951 about Betty, a HS graduate with an exciting summer ahead before she goes off to college…to current day Boop, as she’s now called, coming to terms with a move she’s not quite sure about. The love between Boop and her granddaughter is so sweet, along with her friendship with Doris and Georgia. What happens that summer of 51 is accurate for the time.
Set in South Haven, MI, the Catskills of the Midwest, at Stern’s Summer Resort, Betty’s Grandparents resort. The resort caters to Jewish families who come back year after year. The story talks of family, responsibility and the choices we make.
Thanks to Ms. Nathan, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.
Tender, nostalgic, and sentimental!
The Last Bathing Beauty is an absorbing, heartwarming tale that takes us to the shores of South Haven, Michigan during 1951 when Jewish summer camps in the Catskills of the Midwest were the place to be, girls were excited for more than just marriage, and Betty Stern and her family would never be the same.
The writing is vivid and expressive. The characters are authentic, vivacious, and sympathetic. And the plot, using a past/present, back-and-forth style is a delightful mix of summer fun, friendship, family, coming-of-age, secrets, heartbreak, forbidden love, familial expectations, and second chances.
Overall, The Last Bathing Beauty is a heartfelt, beguiling, charming tale by Nathan that not only reminds us that everyone that enters our lives impacts, shapes, and defines it but that love is truly ageless.
Perfect for a weekend escape. It is a story of Betty Stern, a young girl with dreams of a career and a happy marriage. Then later in her life, when betrayals and secrets are finally revealed, she struggles to come to terms with the life she has had and what might have been.
The plot was somewhat predictable, and there was an excessive amount of description. Character development was certainly not the best. Most of the characters seemed to be there only to “showcase” Betty. But, overall, it was still a very enjoyable story. If you enjoyed the movie “Dirty Dancing”, you will enjoy this book.
Coming to Terms with the Past
4 Stars
For Mature teen – adults (younger readers probably wouldn’t appreciate it.)
Sex, but described without lurid detail
Historically correct
Little or No memorable harsh language
No Violence
Emotionally satisfying, particularly towards the end.
Only 4 stars given because I had a hard time getting involved in the story for the first 1/2 of the book.
Plot no spoilers:
The chapters are titled “Boop” or”Betty.” Betty chapters take place in the summer of 1951 as she looks forward to starting college while working at her grandparents’ summer resort. During this time she experiences typical self-doubts but also her first true love.
“Boop” chapters are centered on Betty in 2017, who is in her 80’s. Her two best friends have come to visit her, and unexpectedly, so does her granddaughter. We quickly see that Boop’s granddaughter’s situation is beginning to mirror Betty’s long-ago experience. With the help of the perspective of time and the wisdom of friends both Boop and her granddaughter make emotionally healthy and positive decisions to go forward.
One reviewer referred to the book as predictable. I’d say, yes, somewhat, but that didn’t detract from it.
I gave it 4 stars because of the slow start, but also must reveal that I was reading it in the spring of 2020 when we were all under stress due to the COVID 19 virus. For that reason it’s entirely possible my emotions, patience, and interest were affected.
Recommended for those who enjoy positive yet realistic family and friendship novels.
Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “The Last Bathing Beauty” by Amy Sue Nathan, Lake Union Publishing, April 1, 2020
I loved everything about “The Last Bathing Beauty” by Amy Sue Nathan. Amy Sue Nathan is a wonderful storyteller, and the writing in this book vividly describes the characters, the events, and the landscape. This is an amazing book that puts so many things into perspective. The themes throughout this novel are the importance of friendship, family, second chances, acceptance, forgiveness, love, and hope. This story is written in the summer of 1952, and also is written in the present. The story takes place in the summer of 1951 at a family lake resort and revisits this in the present. The author describes her characters as flawed, loyal, supportive, each with their own set of problems.
In 1959, Betty Stern is enjoying her last summer, working for her Grandparents at the lovely resort, before she goes to college. Betty even decides to compete in a bathing beauty contest. She has her friends to support her, and there are young men who work and visit the resort that are looking to have a nice summer. Things don’t often go as planned.
In the present Betty, now called Boop, is at the house by the resort, and her former friends are visiting, as well as her granddaughter. Secrets from the past surface creating complex situations and problems. Friendships will be questioned, and so will loyalties.
I highly recommend this unforgettable and thought-provoking novel.
The Last Bathing Beauty by Amy Sue Nathan
1951, back when life was simpler. But was it really? Or did we hide, ignore, sweep under the rug anything not fitting our story book ideals?
It’s summer 1951 and Betty ‘Boop’ Stern has had a dream childhood living with her grandparents at their South Haven MI lakeside resort. Well almost. Now a senior in high school and looking forward to attending Barnard College in NYC in the fall, Betty is determined to find summer love. What she does find changes the course of her life.
The Last Bathing Beauty by Amy Sue Nathan started off fairly slow. I was tempted to set it aside, but ultimately glad I stuck it out. This is a charming story of a girl finding her way to adulthood in the 1950’s, making plans and sharing secrets with her two best friends. The story switches back and forth between the summer of 1951 and present day.
Betty, now 84 year olds, enjoys one last reunion with her two life long friends before packing up her beloved resort home. As much as she hates to move away, she realizes it may not be wise to live alone in the big old house and is convinced to move to live with her son and family in California.
An unexpected visit from her granddaughter, revival of Miss South Haven contest, and an unfortunate accident has Betty and friends reliving events of their summer of ’51. Long kept secrets are revealed, relationships tested, and Betty is left wondering if broken dreams and changed plans may have been part of the plan all along.
I ended up enjoying The Last Bathing Beauty, in fact think it’s author Amy Sue Nathan’s best novel so far.
I recommend for anyone wanting the nostalgia of bobby socks, penny loafers, and bonfires with the gang; a light spring read with depth; or reminders that regardless of age, our present does not erase our past. Or our future
The Last Bathing Beauty by Amy Sue Nathan
Lake Union Publishing
Available April 2020
I really like this book even though parts were slow and over descriptive. Handling of blending past and present timelines very well
Great characters and a good plot.
4 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for a copy of book. All opinions are my own
Winner, Winner! Another lovely escape by Amy Sue Nathan.
This is an amazing heartwarming dual time line book! In 1951, Betty has just graduated high school and is working another summer at her grandparent’s resort. She meets Abe a waiter at the resort and they start dating. Jump ahead to 2017 and Betty now known as Boop has a granddaughter Hannah that reminds her so much of her younger self. As Boop helps Hannah with her problems, she realizes she must tell Hannah about the summer of ’51. I loved the characters in this book. The love and affection between Boop and Hannah is wonderful to read. Boop reminds me so much of my grandmother. I truly loved this book and its amazing characters. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
A wonderful book told in dual timelines of a woman named Betty aka Boop.
This is a story of how life for her “happened” and now at eighty, she must divulge her mistakes so her granddaughter will not make these same errors.
It begins in 1951 alternating with the present day.
“Was it possible that the best– or something close to it– was yet to come for Boop as well?”
If ever you believe in second chances, this novel will validate that belief!
I loved the characters in this book. Boop is one determined lady who will stop at nothing to help friends and family!
I adore her best friends who know more than Boop realizes and have to right the wrongs as well.
You will laugh, cry and you will cheer for this strong lady!
Excellent!
THE LAST BATHING BEAUTY is a story told in alternating time periods—in 1951, when 18 year-old Betty “Boop” Stern is a beautiful young woman exploring life and all it offers at that age—and in 2017 as an 84 year-old woman reflecting on her life and what it could have been. Boop’s granddaughter, Hannah, and her relationship with her grandmother will warm your heart. Their bond and strength are what opens avenues that will sustain them for the rest of their lives. “Boop possessed a spirit more beautiful than all the sunsets and bouquets mixed together. Her heart as brave as any warrior’s. What lessons she’d taught Hannah—taught everyone—about family, about love, about being true to oneself while honoring those around you.” This quote sums up how Nathan tells a very touching and emotional story dealing with young love, tenderness, family secrets, life lessons and second chances. I highly recommend this novel, and I thank Amy Sue Nathan for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I love Jewish fiction and books set in the 1950s.
What a wonderful plot set in Michigan in 1951 at a Jewish resort Betty (aka Boop in her later years) her grandparents owned. Her parents weren’t like her parents and just “abandoned” her to her grandparents while they traveled as actors. She had her friends Georgia and Doris to keep her company when they all worked there during their senior year in high school. Betty wanted to be a fashion editor in New York after attending Barnard. She was fashion conscience and very stylish. She always wanted to be a contestant in The 1951 Miss South Haven Beauty contest hence the title. That played a sort of small part of the book for me.
The book alternated between 1951 when she was 18 and 2017 when she was 84 years old. She was still living in Michigan in her grandparents house. She married Marv who she met at the resort but didn’t really love. Her true love was Abe who was half-Jewish (his father) who her grandparents hired as a waiter.
Time flies and things change but not sure for the better. As the book gets close to the ending things change again and this time unbelievably so. No spoilers but it was wonderful.
A quick story about granddaughters and their grandmother. Boop had this final summer working for her grandparents before leaving for college in the fall.
She meets someone and it suddenly all changes. I enjoyed the story and the characters. I felt kinda sad for her and what might have been. Thanks to Netgalley and the author for the early copy