Labor Day LP

By Joyce Maynard
(HarperLuxe, Paperback, Large Print, 9780061893926, 320pp.)

Publication Date: August 2009

Other Editions of This Title: Google eBook, Hardcover, Paperback

Categories: General

Selected by Indie Booksellers for the August 2009 Indie Next List

“In Labor Day, Joyce Maynard has created three well-written and engaging characters, has put them in an extraordinary situation, and has delivered a wonderful book. I admit to being teary during the last few pages.”

-- Lisa Sharp, Nightbird Books, Fayetteville, AR

Selected by Indie Booksellers for the Winter 2011 Reading Group List

“Labor Day is a novel about seeing the good in someone when no one else can; how spending a few minutes sharing a talent with a child can affect his entire life and the person he ultimately becomes; about true love that, once found, can never be torn away no matter how strong the outside forces; about families and what the word really means; about believing that someone can be better than they think they are and having the same beliefs about yourself; and about hope, trust, and forgiveness. A natural for book group discussion!”

-- Cathy Allard, BayShore Books LLC, Oconto, WI

Description

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry—lonely, friendless, not too good at sports—spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele—a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.

But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others—especially those we love—above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.

In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's Atonement and Nick Hornby's About a Boy, acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery as seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy—and the man he later becomes—looking back at an unexpected encounter that begins one single long, hot, life-altering weekend.

About the Author

Joyce Maynard has been a reporter for the New York Times, a magazine journalist, a radio commentator, and a syndicated columnist, as well as the author of six novels, including To Die For and Labor Day, and four books of nonfiction. Her bestselling memoir, At Home in the World, has been translated into eleven languages. Her previous novel, Labor Day, is being adapted for film by Academy Award-nominated director Jason Reitman. The mother of five children, she makes her home in Mill Valley, California.

Conversation Starters from ReadingGroupChoices.com

As reported by Henry, his mother Adele displays a number of behaviors that could be interpreted as crazy. How do you explain her son's steadiness and competence? Do you consider Adele to be a bad mother?

When you were first introduced to the character of Frank (p. 5), what was your feeling about him? As you learned more about Frank over the course of the story, did your impression of him change? If so, what details and actions can you identify that caused you to alter your opinion of him?
Were you surprised that Adele was willing to bring Frank to her home? Why do you think she did?
Henry's father and his wife, Marjorie, live a much more steady and "normal" life than the one Henry shares with Adele. Why do you think Henry remains so loyal to his mother, concealing aspects of her behavior that would no doubt alarm his father?
Were you surprised to discover than Frank is a good baker? What does his baking ability tell you about him? Why do you think the author chose to offer such a detailed description of Frank's pie-making technique?
The novel is set at a time during which a number of transitions are taking place in the lives of the main characters. What transition if Henry going through? Adele? Frank? How is that feeling of transition echoed in the time period in which the story is framed (the end of summer and the beginning of the school year)?
Henry often refers to a "normal family," a "regular family," a "family." What does the concept of family mean to Henry? What does the term "normal family" mean to you?
What was your first impression of the character of Eleanor? Did this impression change as you got to know her better? Why do you think Eleanor behaves as she does?
How does Eleanor go about instilling fear and doubts about Frank in Henry? Why do you think she does this? What is she hoping to accomplish?
In Chapter 18 Henry comments that seeing his mother happy with Frank "took me off the hook." At the same time, he appears to be threatened by the possibility that the intimacy she has discovered with Frank will cause her to abandon him. How does Henry go about reconciling these two conflicting responses to the love affair he witnesses, and how much of what takes place occurs as a result of this conflict?
How do you think the events of that Labor Day weekend changed Henry? How might his life have gone if Frank had not shown up?
Why do you think Adele relinquishes custody of Henry? Why does he decide to return to her?
Were you surprised by what Henry says and does when he encounters Eleanor again, a year later, walking her dog? What do you think has caused Eleanor to become the person she is? Why is her dog named Jim?
What does Henry's father mean when he observes that Adele "was in love with love"?
Frank's experience with Adele and Henry cost him eighteen years of his life, and yet he expresses gratitude for having met them. How can this be? Do you believe the kind of love that existed between Adele and Frank can truly exist?

Praise For Labor Day LP…

“Maynard...is in top form in this tale of love, betrayal and forgiveness.”
-Record Searchlight (Redding, CA)

“Maynard has created an ensemble of characters that will sneak into your heart, and warm it while it breaks.”
-St. Petersburg Times

“But apart from being a successful thriller, this book is a fascinating portrait of what causes a family to founder, and how much it can cost to put it back on the right path. ”
-NPR.org

“surprisingly moving”
-Arizona Republic

“[The] story is moving and fast-moving, affirming Maynard’s reputation as a master storyteller and showing her to be a passionate humanist with a gifted ear and heart. . . . Maynard illuminates the human experience.”
-People (Four Stars)

“an uplifting story told by a boy who is just beginning to understand what life is all about.”
-St. Petersburg Times

“Labor Day is both a coming-of-age story and a love story- a tale of profound loss, redemption and soul searching that is not to be missed.”
-www.MyDailyFind.com

“Maynard offers fresh insight into what constitutes family.”
-USA Today

“Labor Day is a startling novel of love, friendship, trust, treachery, betrayal, and the deep lessons that we learn in life.... It’s a powerful, poignant mix in the hands of author Joyce Maynard and a novel no one should miss.”
-www.Gather.com

“Joyce Maynard is in top-notch form with Labor Day. From the perfect pitch of a teenaged boy narrator to the eloquent message of how loneliness can bind people together, this is simply a novel you cannot miss.”
-Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper and Handle With Care

“Maynard gets inside the head of an adolescent boy who is grappling with his own identity and the mysteries of sex (while revealing the secrets of making perfect pie crust). ”
-Salt Lake City Tribune

“Maynard deftly pulls the reader into the fragile lives of these three vulnerable characters and their preordained march toward the novel’s denouement. A marvelous read––perfect for one long sitting––this novel leaves the reader wishing it didn’t ever have to end.”
-BookPage

“At once beautiful and disturbing, this remarkable novel…is a moving read.”
-BookPage.com on LABOR DAY

“a haunting and hopeful story”
-Hartford Courant

“Maynard spins a fascinating story of damaged people seeking the one thing they long for – love. ”
-Wichita Falls, TX, Times Record News

“Maynard details Henry’s roller-coaster emotions for Frank – he is both jealous and grateful – and his mother’s emotional journeys – with skill and tenderness for the uncertain willingness of broken hearts to mend. The poignant results are revealing of our ability to forgive and to grow.”
-Smart Money

“Maynard’s inventive coming-of-age tale indelibly captures the anxiety and confusion inherent in adolescence, while the addition of a menacing element of suspense makes this emotionally fraught journey that much more harrowing.”
-Booklist

“Maynard expertly tugs heartstrings in a tidy tale. ”
-Kirkus Reviews

“Maynard is in top form in this tale of love, betrayal, and forgiveness.”
-Associated Press

“The novel is an extended meditation on the nature of love, grief and loneliness.... Maynard has created an ensemble of characters that will sneak into your heart, and warm it while it breaks. ”
-St. Petersburg Times

“[A] sweet, swift read that will leave you feeling good.”
-Minneapolis Star Tribune

“It is a testament to Maynard’s skill that she makes this ominous setup into a convincing and poignant coming-of-age tale.”
-Washington Post

“beautifully written”
-New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Labor Day is suffused with tenderness, dreaminess and love....first and foremost a page-turner...[it] puts back together the world that it destroys....you definitely need to get a box of tissues.”
-Newsday

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