Shoulder Season

Description:

The small town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is an unlikely location for a Playboy Resort, and nineteen-year old Sherri Taylor is an unlikely bunny. Growing up in neighboring East Troy, Sherri plays the organ at the local church and has never felt comfortable in her own skin. But when her parents die in quick succession, she leaves the only home she’s ever known for the chance to be part of a glamorous slice of history. In the winter of 1981, in a costume two sizes too small, her toes pinched by stilettos, Sherri joins the daughters of dairy farmers and factory workers for the defining experience of her life.

Living in the “bunny hutch”—Playboy’s version of a college dorm—Sherri gets her education in the joys of sisterhood, the thrill of financial independence, the magic of first love, and the heady effects of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. But as spring gives way to summer, Sherri finds herself caught in a romantic triangle—and the tragedy that ensues will haunt her for the next forty years.  

From the Midwestern prairie to the California desert, from Wisconsin lakes to the Pacific Ocean, this is a story of what happens when small town life is sprinkled with stardust, and what we lose—and gain—when we leave home. With a heroine to root for and a narrative to get lost in, Christina Clancy’s Shoulder Season is a sexy, evocative tale, drenched in longing and desire, that captures a fleeting moment in American history with nostalgia and heart. (publisher)

My take:

Sherri Taylor spent most of her high school years caring for her sick mother. When she died Sherri had no idea what the future would hold. College wasn’t an option so when her best friend announced she was going to interview at the Playboy Resort in nearby Lake Geneva, Sherri went with her on a whim. That interview set the course for her life. Sherri’s story is that of a small town girl moving into a fast paced life style. Bunny culture was a world apart from the first 18 years of her life. A naive, innocent and trusting girl, newly orphaned, finds a new family with her co-workers and staff at the resort. Shoulder Season is a look back at the devil-may-care early 1980s. It’s a coming-of-age story that kept me turning the pages. I loved the local Wisconsin mentions as well as pop-culture references. I appreciate that Christina Clancy neatly wrapped up her story with a where-are-they-now ending.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader copy and Macmillan Audio for the audio via NetGalley. Narrator Karissa Vacker did a fabulous job with the narration – especially the perfect pronunciation of the names of various Wisconsin towns! I’ve listened to several books narrated by Vacker and, as with Shoulder Season, her performance is always top notch.

About the author:

Christina Clancy is the author of The Second Home. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Sun Magazine, and in various literary journals, including Glimmer Train, Pleiades, and Hobart. She holds a Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her family.

Praise for SHOULDER SEASON:

“Shoulder Season is a delight. Briskly plotted, the book moves like a river through time, sweeping the reader along for an unexpected, humorous, and surprising journey of friendship, exploration, and discovery.”

––Nickolas Butler, bestselling author of Shotgun Lovesongs

“Shoulder Season shines a bright light on a neglected moment in history and tells a coming-of-age story I’ve truly never read before. In Sherri, Christina Clancy rescues the Playboy Bunny from ridicule and illuminates her inner life with all of the richness and complexity she deserves.”

 ––Lauren Fox, author of Days of Awe

“Christina Clancy’s story of a young woman’s difficult road to independence hums with contemporary resonance. Clancy is a gifted storyteller, and Shoulder Season is a riveting tale of ambition, romance, friendship, heartbreak and hope.” 

––Karen Dukess, author of The Last Book Party

“I adored the story of Sherri, an unlikely Playboy Bunny, and her wild and poignant adventures inside the Lake Geneva Playboy Resort. Both a tender coming of age novel and a sun-drenched ride through the 1980’s poolside and in Hugh Hefner’s glamorous suite, Shoulder Season is an absolute pleasure.”

––Amanda Ward, author of the New York Times bestseller The Jetsetters

“Shoulder Season is a triumph of heart, of courage, and of resilience — and a message that the tragedies that spark our journeys don’t decide their endings. I loved it.”

––J. Ryan Stradal, bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest

“Shoulder Season is a beautifully-written, thrilling, heartbreaking story of a bumpy coming of age. A page-turner full of twists and surprises, Bunnies and bad boyfriends, and lasting sisterhood found in unexpected places. I loved it.”

––Julia Claiborne Johnson, bestselling author of Be Frank With Me

“Expertly researched and flawlessly executed, Shoulder Season has a bit of everything: adventure and excess; love and heartbreak; shocking tragedy. You’ll start reading for the wild ride of the Playboy Resort but stay for Sherri, the complex protagonist at the heart of this exquisite novel.”

—Amy Meyerson, author of The Bookshop of Yesterdays and The Imperfects

“I tore through this vibrant coming-of-age tale of small-town girls seduced by a new life of sex and glitter just miles from their quiet Wisconsin towns. Clancy’s vulnerable characters come roaring to life in full eighties glamour—before spiraling toward a central tragedy that will define their adult lives and the very definition of home.”

—Steven Rowley, bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus