{"title":"Robin Antalek","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"the-summer-we-fell-apart-a-novel","title":"The Summer We Fell Apart: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e“[A] well-crafted and cunning debut novel…a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Summer We Fell Apart \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eby newcomer \u003c\/em\u003eRobin Antalek is a poignant, funny, and totally engrossing novel of family disasters and sibling rivalry—and it marks the debut of a pitch-perfect new voice in contemporary American fiction. Antalek’s tale of the trials and many tribulations of the hapless and more than a little dysfunctional Haas family recalls the work of Sue Miller and Ann Beattie—and is a wonderful introduction to a superb writer whose short fiction has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Glimmer Train’s Family Matter’s and Short-Story Award and the Bellingham Review’s Tobias Wolff Award for Fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Robin Antalek","offers":[{"title":"Trade Paperback","offer_id":53143985357091,"sku":"9780061782169","price":12.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/2258\/5123\/files\/9780061782169.jpg?v=1741128381"},{"product_id":"the-grown-ups-a-novel","title":"The Grown Ups: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the author of \u003cem\u003eThe Summer We Fell Apart, \u003c\/em\u003ean evocative and emotionally resonant coming-of-age novel involving three friends that explores what it means to be happy, what it means to grow up, and how difficult it is to do both together.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe summer he’s fifteen, Sam enjoys, for a few secret months, the unexpected attention of Suzie Epstein. For reasons Sam doesn’t entirely understand, he and Suzie keep their budding relationship hidden from their close knit group of friends. But as the summer ends, Sam’s world unexpectedly shatters twice: Suzie’s parents are moving to a new city to save their marriage, and his own mother has suddenly left the house, leaving Sam’s father alone to raise two sons.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWatching as her parents’ marital troubles escalate, Suzie takes on the responsibility of raising her two younger brothers and plans an early escape to college and independence. Though she thinks of Sam, she deeply misses her closest friend Bella, but makes no attempt to reconnect, embarrassed by the destructive wake of her parents as they left the only place Suzie called home. Years later, a chance meeting with Sam’s older brother will reunite her with both Sam and Bella—and force her to confront her past and her friends.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter losing Suzie, Bella finds her first real love in Sam. But Sam’s inability to commit to her or even his own future eventually drives them apart. In contrast, Bella’s old friend Suzie—and Sam’s older brother, Michael—seem to have worked it all out, leaving Bella to wonder where she went wrong.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpanning over a decade, told in alternating voices, \u003cem\u003eThe Grown Ups \u003c\/em\u003eexplores the indelible bonds between friends and family and the challenges that threaten to divide them.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Robin Antalek","offers":[{"title":"Trade Paperback","offer_id":53152925778211,"sku":"9780062302472","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/2258\/5123\/files\/9780062302472.jpg?v=1741157078"}],"url":"https:\/\/epicreads.com\/collections\/robin-antalek.oembed","provider":"Epic Reads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}