The Jetsetters: A Novel
Written by Amanda Eyre Ward
Narrated by Therese Plummer
Editor's Note
Reese Witherspoon pick…
This big-hearted family tale is Reese Witherspoon’s book club pick for March 2020. “I love the sense of adventure in this story — it’s about a disconnected family that reunites on a cruise ship traveling through Europe. If you’re packing for Spring Break, be sure to include a copy of this fun read,” Witherspoon wrote in the announcement post.
Description
A Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Pick
When 70-year-old Charlotte Perkins submits a sexy essay to the "Become a Jetsetter" contest, she dreams of reuniting her estranged children: Lee, an almost-famous actress; Cord, a handsome Manhattan venture capitalist who can't seem to find a bride; and Regan, a harried mother who took it all wrong when Charlotte bought her a Weight Watchers gift certificate for her birthday. Charlotte yearns for the years when her children were young and she was a single mother who meant everything to them.
When she wins the cruise, the family packs all their baggage—literal and figurative—and spends 10 days traveling from sun-drenched Athens through glorious Rome to tapas-laden Barcelona on an over-the-top cruise ship, the Splendido Marveloso. As lovers new and old join the adventure, long-buried secrets are revealed, and the Perkins family is forced to confront the defining choices in their lives.
Can four lost adults find the peace they've been seeking by reconciling their childhood aches and coming back to each other? In the vein of The Nest and The Vacationers, Ward has created a delicious and intelligent novel about the courage it takes to reveal our true selves, the pleasures and perils of family, and how we navigate the seas of adulthood to cruise—we can only hope—toward joy.
About the author
Amanda Eyre Ward was born in New York City, and graduated from Williams College and the University of Montana. Her short stories have been published in various literary reviews and magazines. She is the author of the critically acclaimed and award-winning novel ‘Sleep Towards Heaven’ and ‘How to be Lost’, and was named by the New York Post as one of five Writers to Watch in 2003. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, geologist Tip Meckel.
Reviews
What people think about The Jetsetters
3.5Reader reviews
- (5/5)Loved it but didn’t love the ending… Wish there would have been more of a “happier ending.”
- (3/5)Light reading. Ideal for vacation. Maybe it will turn up as a nice tv series.
- (2/5)The narration was good but the story was sadly disappointing. It felt like the characters didn't learn anything or develop and the ending was way too abrupt.
- (3/5)This was a really messed up family that started from a bad marriage but spiraled due to substance abuse. The rest of the journey is each person trying to reclaim that youthful part of their life when they felt safest and happiest.
- (4/5)The author’s descriptions of a cruise are hilariously on point. The narrator doesn’t know how to pronounce words, which is very distracting.
- (5/5)Narration is fantastic. Funny story, sweet, sad, believable, surprising. Great (flawed and like able) characters, with different ages and personalities. European cities! Hilarious description of a cruise. Loved it! Easy to read - but still lots that could be discussed in a book club.