About the Author:

Katie Runde grew up on the Jersey Shore, where her family ran various boardwalk businesses. She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College and lives in Iowa City with her husband and two daughters. The Shore is her first novel.

About the Book:

Set over the course of one summer, THE SHORE follows the Dunne family as they fall apart and find their way back together, relying on sisterhood, friendship, and love in a time of crisis.

Steps away from the Seaside boardwalk, Brian and Margot live with their teenage daughters Liz and Evy, a happy existence filled with beach days, family dinners, and father-daughter runs on the beach. Their lives alter forever when Brian develops a brain tumor, transforming into a bizarre, erratic version of himself—becoming a stranger to his family before he disappears.

Amidst the chaos and new responsibilities, Liz still craves the flirtation and adventure every teenage girl wants. A wounded, sarcastic side emerges in her younger sister Evy, who works in a candy shop and falls in love with her friend Olivia, but secretly adopts the online persona of a middle-aged-mom and joins a support group in an attempt to connect with her own mother. Meanwhile, Margot faces an impossible choice driven by grief, impulse, and the ways Seaside has shaped her. Falling apart is not an option, but she can always pack up and leave the beach behind.

THE SHORE is the ultimate literary beach read: characters who feel like family from the first chapter, young women finding themselves amidst tragedy and heartbreak, and a propulsive examination into the devastating illness of a partner or parent and how it shapes you in ways you never imagined.