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A review by boba_nbooks
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️
Malibu Rising is a love story, but it's not the kind you're thinking of. It is a story of familial love. Of siblings who give each other their all, who are still here despite all the odds stacked against them.
It's hard to describe exactly what Malibu Rising is about. It's a character-driven story that follows the Riva family. Parents, Mick and June, fall deeply in love, but Mick's rise to fame quickly drives a wedge between the two. Their children--Nina, Hud, Jay, and Kit--are left to fend for themselves and pick up the pieces of their parents' failed marriage. Now, the four siblings are all grown up and trying to cope from their childhood trauma in different ways. Every year, Nina Riva throws a party in her Malibu mansion, but this year is a little different than her past parties. The Riva party is a magnet to the rich and famous and those who want to be. Within 24 hours, there will be a fire in Malibu that will cleanse the shores and lives of the Rivas. But before that, all of the Riva's family baggage and secrets must be brought to light.
Taylor Jenkins Reid sure knows how to create a rich story with characters so relatable they break your heart. I loved each of the Riva siblings, but Nina especially wormed her way into my soul. She embodies a lyric from But Daddy I Love Him by Taylor Swift: "Growing up precocious sometimes means not growing up at all." Though Nina was forced to grow up much faster than any child should have to, she handled it all with grace and discovered that sometimes loving and caring for others means letting them love and care for you in return.
Malibu Rising poses the question: are we cursed to repeat our ancestor's mistakes? Time and time again, we see how the Riva parents' decisions and actions are mimicked in the lives of their children. However, once the children realize that there is a pattern, they are able to break it. And really, isn't that all we can do? Just try to do a little better than the generation before us.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It had me on the edge of my seat and on the brink of tears. Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid's other works will eat this one up.
Malibu Rising is a love story, but it's not the kind you're thinking of. It is a story of familial love. Of siblings who give each other their all, who are still here despite all the odds stacked against them.
It's hard to describe exactly what Malibu Rising is about. It's a character-driven story that follows the Riva family. Parents, Mick and June, fall deeply in love, but Mick's rise to fame quickly drives a wedge between the two. Their children--Nina, Hud, Jay, and Kit--are left to fend for themselves and pick up the pieces of their parents' failed marriage. Now, the four siblings are all grown up and trying to cope from their childhood trauma in different ways. Every year, Nina Riva throws a party in her Malibu mansion, but this year is a little different than her past parties. The Riva party is a magnet to the rich and famous and those who want to be. Within 24 hours, there will be a fire in Malibu that will cleanse the shores and lives of the Rivas. But before that, all of the Riva's family baggage and secrets must be brought to light.
Taylor Jenkins Reid sure knows how to create a rich story with characters so relatable they break your heart. I loved each of the Riva siblings, but Nina especially wormed her way into my soul. She embodies a lyric from But Daddy I Love Him by Taylor Swift: "Growing up precocious sometimes means not growing up at all." Though Nina was forced to grow up much faster than any child should have to, she handled it all with grace and discovered that sometimes loving and caring for others means letting them love and care for you in return.
Malibu Rising poses the question: are we cursed to repeat our ancestor's mistakes? Time and time again, we see how the Riva parents' decisions and actions are mimicked in the lives of their children. However, once the children realize that there is a pattern, they are able to break it. And really, isn't that all we can do? Just try to do a little better than the generation before us.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It had me on the edge of my seat and on the brink of tears. Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid's other works will eat this one up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Minor: Car accident, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury