Taylor Jenkins Reid is the author of the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling novels The Seven Lives of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the Six. Malibu Rising will undoubtedly join these in the bestseller’s list. It is Malibu, August 1983 and the day of Nina Riva’s annual summer party, a day highly anticipated by all. Everyone wants a piece of the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and model; brothers Jay and Hud, one an award-winning surfer, the other a highly-renowned photographer; and their spunky little sister Kit. As the offspring of the legendary singer and household name Mick Riva, the siblings are a source of fascination and awe in Malibu. But by midnight, the party will be out of control, and Nina’s mansion will be ablaze. Before that, though, the secrets of the Riva family will come rising to the surface.
Malibu Rising is fast-paced and addictive, offering readers an uber-fun foray into 80s Malibu and stardom. Reid has a masterful way of writing that pulls you in from the very first page. She forces you to not only sympathise with her characters but to empathise with them, too, making for an incredible reading experience. An expert at character development, Reid’s complex characters feel like real people. Malibu Rising is narrated in the third person, but Reid skips between different characters’ points of view. The transitions here are seamless and give the story a special quality by providing an intimate insight into the characters’ minds. Through her remarkable character development, Reid takes a potentially light and fluffy beach read and elevates it to the emotional complexity of literary fiction.
On a similar note, the characters in Malibu Rising are extremely lovable and enjoyable to read about. It was particularly heart-warming to read about Nina’s character and how she sacrificed her teenage years to become a mother to her siblings. Most rewarding, though, was seeing Nina finally let her siblings go at the end of the novel to pursue her own happiness. In addition, it was also wonderful to see the siblings’ devotion and loyalty to each other. Kit’s witty, outspoken character and her journey of self-discovery were also great to see, as was the maturity of Jay and Hud, who serve to highlight the immaturity of their father, Mick.
Overall, Malibu Rising is an immensely enjoyable novel, making for the perfect summer read.
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