Perennials: A Novel

by Mandy Berman

“This highly anticipated coming-of-age novel . . . delivers the perfect sunny trifecta: summer camp drama, growing pains, and the enduring power of female friendships.”—Redbook

At what point does childhood end and adulthood begin? Mandy Berman’s evocative debut novel captures, through the lens of summer camp both the thrill and pain of growing up.

Rachel Rivkin and Fiona Larkin used to treasure their summers together as campers at Camp Marigold. Now, reunited as counselors after their first year of college, their relationship is more complicated. Rebellious Rachel, a street-smart city kid raised by a single mother, has been losing patience with her best friend’s insecurities; Fiona, the middle child of a not-so-perfect suburban family, envies Rachel’s popularity with their campers and fellow counselors. For the first time, the two friends start keeping secrets from each other. Through them, as well as from the perspectives of their fellow counselors, their campers, and their mothers, we witness the tensions of the turbulent summer build to a tragic event, which forces Rachel and Fiona to confront their pasts—and the adults they’re becoming.

A seductive blast of nostalgia, a striking portrait of adolescent longing, and a tribute to female friendship, Perennials will speak to everyone who still remembers that bittersweet moment when innocence is lost forever.

Praise for Perennials

“Berman is at her most insightful when exploring the awkward unfurling of female adolescence. . . . Perennials is a sharp meditation on the changing female body, and the ways in which such changes are often involuntary and unwanted. . . . [She] skillfully captures the details and rituals of camp.”—J. Courtney Sullivan, The New York Times Book Review

“Berman’s command of prose is astounding. The more you read, the more difficult it is to believe that this is a debut novel. . . . Charged with hope, longing, an unexpected sensuality, and a bruised tenderness, Perennials is a book you should most definitely put near the top of your reading list.”—Pop Dust

“Snappy and irresistible, Perennials takes readers back to summer camp, where her characters’ first friendships and treasons play out in sharp dialogue and playful, generous prose.”—Kristopher Jansma, author of Why We Came to the City

• ISBN10: 0399589333
• ISBN13: 9780399589331
• Publish Date: 12 June 2018 (first published 6 June 2017)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Random House Trade Paperbacks
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780399589331

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

This book was not bad. It was actually an interesting character study, which presented snapshots of all these different people. The people were very different from each other, but they were connected through Camp Marigold.

My general issue is that I cannot accept this as a YA book. Yes, there were characters in this book who fit the age for upper YA, and maybe they did get the most page time, but there were all these other characters, who had entire chapters dedicated to them, and were unrelated to anything going on between Rachel and Fiona. In fact, some of the chapters were dedicated to peripheral adults, and they shared some very adult problems from very adult perspectives. I am in my 40s, so I appreciated reading these chapters. I found them to be a provocative look into these people's lives, and the issues they were dealing with. However, I felt like it took the focus off of Fiona and Rachel, and I was expecting their story.

I am ok with character studies and no plot, but this was a sad slice of life. I do tend towards books that are a little lighter or at least are laced with hope, but this on was imbued in woe. And then the ending was so abrupt. I was hoping to get a little bump there, but it just sort of ended.