Gap Year
Sarah Bird
(Author)
Description
Named a "Best Summer Read" by Good Housekeeping, Town & Country, and BookReporter, a witty and wise novel about the empty nest, a pitch perfect portrayal of a mother and daughter on the verge of a seismic change. Cam has raised her daughter Aubrey alone ever since her ex left to join a cult. But now the bond between mother and daughter seems to have disappeared. While Cam is frantic to see Aubrey, a straight-A student, at the perfect college, on a path that Cam is sure will provide her daughter success and happiness, Aubrey suddenly shows no interest in her mother's plans. Even the promise of an exciting gap year saving baby seals or bringing clean water to remote villages hasn't tempted her. She prefers pursuing a life with her wrong-side-of-the-tracks football-hero boyfriend and her own secret hopes. Both mourn the gap that has grown between them, but Cam and Aubrey seem locked in a fight without a winner. Can they both learn how to hold onto dreams . . . and when to let go to grasp something better? Sarah Bird's trademark laugh-out-loud humor joins with the tears that accompany love in a combination that reveals the fragile yet tough bonds of mother and daughter.Product Details
Price
$19.99
Publisher
Gallery Books
Publish Date
July 17, 2012
Pages
320
Dimensions
5.3 X 8.2 X 0.9 inches | 0.55 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9781451678765
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About the Author
Sarah Bird lives with her family in Austin, Texas, where she performs her own material regularly at the Hyde Park Theatre. She is the author of six previous novels, including The Flamenco Academy and The Yokota Officers Club.
Reviews
"Alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, "The Gap Year" is a pitch-perfect portrayal of a mother and teenage daughter on the precipice of seismic change. Everyone is given full rein in this snappy, deliciously vicious, modern spin on growing up, growing old, and letting go. Bird's timing is impeccable." -Cristina Garcia
"Alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, "The Gap Year" is a pitch-perfect portrayal of a mother and teenage daughter on the precipice of seismic change. Everyone is given full rein in this snappy, deliciously vicious, modern spin on growing up, growing old, and letting go. Bird's timing is impeccable." --Cristina Garcia, author of National Book Award finalist, "Dreaming in Cuban"
""The Gap Year, " haunting and laugh out loud funny, speaks to a mother's soul. On every luminous page, I'm reminded how being a mother is like being a contortionist: we latch on even as we let go. Cam contemplates her daughter: '"Certain" and "human," such a hard mix.' This is a page-turner of a book for every mother who ever worried she wasn't up to the hard parts--gracefully accepting the you-never-understood-me complaints our children make; rising above the condescension of smug, over-achieving mothers; accepting our own self-doubt as we measure ourselves against impossible ideals. Cam's dilemma w
"Writing so sharp, smart, funny, and "addictive, "it's as if Molly Ivins had given birth to a novelist daughter." --Z.Z. Packer
"Alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, "The Gap Year" is a pitch-perfect portrayal of a mother and teenage daughter on the precipice of seismic change. Everyone is given full rein in this snappy, deliciously vicious, modern spin on growing up, growing old, and letting go. Bird's timing is impeccable." --Cristina Garcia, author of National Book Award finalist, "Dreaming in Cuban"
""The Gap Year, " haunting and laugh out loud funny, speaks to a mother's soul. On every luminous page, I'm reminded how being a mother is like being a contortionist: we latch on even as we let go. Cam contemplates her daughter: '"Certain" and "human," such a hard mix.' This is a page-turner of a book for every mother who ever worried she wasn't up to the hard parts--gracefully accepting the you-never-understood-me complaints our children make; rising above the condesc
"Told from both Cam's and Aubrey's perspectives, the narrative teases out the ever-deepening mysteries of parents and children as they grow up and apart. Bird's breezy style and spot-on observations of contemporary family life give this headlong story a fizzy energy that carries through to the unexpected conclusion." --"Publishers Weekly"
"Told from alternating points-of-view, Bird's handling of the familiar parent-teen clash of wills is accomplished with memorable, memorably realistic poignancy." --"Booklist
"
"Writing so sharp, smart, funny, and "addictive, "it's as if Molly Ivins had given birth to a novelist daughter." --Z.Z. Packer
"Alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, "The Gap Year" is a pitch-perfect portrayal of a mother and teenage daughter on the precipice of seismic change. Everyone is given full rein in this snappy, deliciously vicious, modern spin on growing up, growing old, and letting go. Bird's timing is impeccable." --Cristina Garcia, author of
"Sarah Bird's latest novel, "The Gap Year, " is a must-read for anyone who loves mother-daughter stories. . . . It becomes nearly impossible to put down once broiling tensions come to a nice simmer." --Kelly Blewett, "Book Page
"
"A compelling read [that] builds to a satisfying and surprisingly tender conclusion. "The Gap Year" is sure to please Bird's fans and readers struggling with their own mother-daughter issues."--Amy Watts, "Library Journal"
"Told from both Cam's and Aubrey's perspectives, the narrative teases out the ever-deepening mysteries of parents and children as they grow up and apart. Bird's breezy style and spot-on observations of contemporary family life give this headlong story a fizzy energy that carries through to the unexpected conclusion." --"Publishers Weekly"
"Told from alternating points-of-view, Bird's handling of the familiar parent-teen clash of wills is accomplished with memorable, memorably realistic poignancy." --"Booklist
"
"Wr
"A smart, witty take on one of the classic milestones of parenting . . . Full of insight, acceptance and, above all, love."
--Sharyn Vane, "Austin American-Statesman"
"While pacifying us with gut-bucket humor, the wicked writer makes us think! At its big, wide-open heart, "The Gap Year" is about self-discovery, about finding and making your own way in the world, a process that, apparently, continues until we die."--Steve Bennett, "San Antonio Express"
"Humorous and lively . . . A perceptive if lighthearted depiction of the process of separation from the points of view of a mother and daughter." --Margaret Quamme, "The Columbus Dispatch"
"Bird's wit shines through on every page--she's the kind of author readers all wish they could spend an hour kvetching with over margaritas--but she also has a real knack for eavesdropping on her characters' inner lives." --Joy Tipping, "Dallas Morning News"
"A""soulful portrait of that awkward, exhilarating and bitte
"Alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, "The Gap Year" is a pitch-perfect portrayal of a mother and teenage daughter on the precipice of seismic change. Everyone is given full rein in this snappy, deliciously vicious, modern spin on growing up, growing old, and letting go. Bird's timing is impeccable." --Cristina Garcia, author of National Book Award finalist, "Dreaming in Cuban"
""The Gap Year, " haunting and laugh out loud funny, speaks to a mother's soul. On every luminous page, I'm reminded how being a mother is like being a contortionist: we latch on even as we let go. Cam contemplates her daughter: '"Certain" and "human," such a hard mix.' This is a page-turner of a book for every mother who ever worried she wasn't up to the hard parts--gracefully accepting the you-never-understood-me complaints our children make; rising above the condescension of smug, over-achieving mothers; accepting our own self-doubt as we measure ourselves against impossible ideals. Cam's dilemma w
"Writing so sharp, smart, funny, and "addictive, "it's as if Molly Ivins had given birth to a novelist daughter." --Z.Z. Packer
"Alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, "The Gap Year" is a pitch-perfect portrayal of a mother and teenage daughter on the precipice of seismic change. Everyone is given full rein in this snappy, deliciously vicious, modern spin on growing up, growing old, and letting go. Bird's timing is impeccable." --Cristina Garcia, author of National Book Award finalist, "Dreaming in Cuban"
""The Gap Year, " haunting and laugh out loud funny, speaks to a mother's soul. On every luminous page, I'm reminded how being a mother is like being a contortionist: we latch on even as we let go. Cam contemplates her daughter: '"Certain" and "human," such a hard mix.' This is a page-turner of a book for every mother who ever worried she wasn't up to the hard parts--gracefully accepting the you-never-understood-me complaints our children make; rising above the condesc
"Told from both Cam's and Aubrey's perspectives, the narrative teases out the ever-deepening mysteries of parents and children as they grow up and apart. Bird's breezy style and spot-on observations of contemporary family life give this headlong story a fizzy energy that carries through to the unexpected conclusion." --"Publishers Weekly"
"Told from alternating points-of-view, Bird's handling of the familiar parent-teen clash of wills is accomplished with memorable, memorably realistic poignancy." --"Booklist
"
"Writing so sharp, smart, funny, and "addictive, "it's as if Molly Ivins had given birth to a novelist daughter." --Z.Z. Packer
"Alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, "The Gap Year" is a pitch-perfect portrayal of a mother and teenage daughter on the precipice of seismic change. Everyone is given full rein in this snappy, deliciously vicious, modern spin on growing up, growing old, and letting go. Bird's timing is impeccable." --Cristina Garcia, author of
"Sarah Bird's latest novel, "The Gap Year, " is a must-read for anyone who loves mother-daughter stories. . . . It becomes nearly impossible to put down once broiling tensions come to a nice simmer." --Kelly Blewett, "Book Page
"
"A compelling read [that] builds to a satisfying and surprisingly tender conclusion. "The Gap Year" is sure to please Bird's fans and readers struggling with their own mother-daughter issues."--Amy Watts, "Library Journal"
"Told from both Cam's and Aubrey's perspectives, the narrative teases out the ever-deepening mysteries of parents and children as they grow up and apart. Bird's breezy style and spot-on observations of contemporary family life give this headlong story a fizzy energy that carries through to the unexpected conclusion." --"Publishers Weekly"
"Told from alternating points-of-view, Bird's handling of the familiar parent-teen clash of wills is accomplished with memorable, memorably realistic poignancy." --"Booklist
"
"Wr
"A smart, witty take on one of the classic milestones of parenting . . . Full of insight, acceptance and, above all, love."
--Sharyn Vane, "Austin American-Statesman"
"While pacifying us with gut-bucket humor, the wicked writer makes us think! At its big, wide-open heart, "The Gap Year" is about self-discovery, about finding and making your own way in the world, a process that, apparently, continues until we die."--Steve Bennett, "San Antonio Express"
"Humorous and lively . . . A perceptive if lighthearted depiction of the process of separation from the points of view of a mother and daughter." --Margaret Quamme, "The Columbus Dispatch"
"Bird's wit shines through on every page--she's the kind of author readers all wish they could spend an hour kvetching with over margaritas--but she also has a real knack for eavesdropping on her characters' inner lives." --Joy Tipping, "Dallas Morning News"
"A""soulful portrait of that awkward, exhilarating and bitte
