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Perennials
Perennials | Mandy Berman
17 posts | 19 read | 26 to read
"Rachel and Fiona meet at Camp Marigold, in the lush hills of the Berkshires when they are pre-adolescents: girls who are on the cusp of young-adulthood, insecure and curious in equal turns about sex, desperate for recognition and a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves. Rachel is a tough, feisty girl from Manhattan; Fiona a more reticient girl from the suburbs, always in Rachel's shadow. Together with their families, lovers, fellow counselors and campers the two will navigate the transition from girlhood to womanhood, learning who they are and who they want to become. Perennials is a beautifully distilled love song to the pains and pleasures of growing up. Full of wit, insight, and a piercing emotional keenness, Perennials will transport readers to a world of forests and lakes, birdsongs and campfires, where nothing ever changes and everything does over the course of a single summer."--
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Sharpeipup
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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29 likes2 stack adds
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mrozzz
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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Mehso-so

Awesome debut for 80% but the end lacks closure. Rings of the style of Conversations with Friends and the subject matter of Marlena.

Berman (28yo) is talented. This most apparent in subtle twists revealed as characters do mundane things (Fiona eating PB on bathroom floor, remembering her first, accidental orgasm)- yet the sheer number of back stories overwhelms the camp thread tying them together.
As a book of stories would've made more sense.

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mrozzz
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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"It felt like Sheera's reason for coming to camp-namely, the opportunity to get out of suffocating, grimy city life, which included, by extension, a certain amount of space between herself and others-was in direct opposition to the reasons of the other campers. They never wanted to do anything alone."

Oh man, how I can relate. I think many bookworms can right? Not just the need to get away from cities but, for me, NEEDING alone time to recharge.

enidkeaner I‘m a bookworm who loves cities and absolutely hates the countryside! 7y
mrozzz @enidkeaner I understand! What I REALLY like are big green spaces within cities where you are only a 2 min walk from anything you need (transportation/coffee/bookstore) but you can stroll over a field of real grass under real trees. There are some parts of Central Park that are like this. I love it. 👌🏻 7y
58 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Little_Reader
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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Holding onto a little bit of summer with this read. Finishing it up tonight. #FridayNightReads

29 likes1 stack add
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JacintaMCarter
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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Pickpick

#2017Book186
Perennials takes place over two summers at Camp Marigold. Each chapter focuses on a different character. The first chapters didn't work very well because the characters were too similar, so it was difficult to determine who was who. As the story progressed it was easier to follow the characters. The last few chapters were absolutely amazing. So much happens at the end of the novel, and I think I cried for at least the last 20 pages.

47 likes1 stack add
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SeeJanRead
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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Two books, one cover

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brendanmleonard
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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The other two weekend purchases! I wasn't planning on getting the Berman, but then I learned about the subject matter (summer camp), which made it a must buy. J. Courtney Sullivan gave it a great review, too. Y'all know what a sucker I am for a post apocalyptic novel, and the Williams (in comments) is a PAN from the perspective of the Amish. And both are short! My schedule is light at work so I'm hoping to catch up on reading! #readwomen

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Hoopiefoot
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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I'm such a sucker for books about summer camp.

minkyb 😅 7y
Eggs Summer camp--where all the memorable stuff happens 7y
60 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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KatyAliceReads
Perennials | Mandy Berman

I'm looking for recommendations of good quality New Adult (not YOUNG Adult) books for work.

I've been having a hard time locating quality, narratively satisfying novels in this genre for this audience. If you know of any please let me know.

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Lauren.Archer
Perennials | Mandy Berman
Mehso-so

I have so many thought on this book. First off there was way too many characters, and for the most part I liked them, but this book due to length could not delve into these characters. Also the ending was kind of shocking, I had to reread three times. I guess I would say it was lacking and I wanted more.

mrozzz I'm about 70% done and totally agreeing with the # of characters. Thought I missed something when Nell and Mo were introduced. 7y
62 likes1 comment
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Lauren.Archer
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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This screams perfect summer read, even on the overcast Sunday.

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NovelVisits
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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Panpan

Perennials just wasn't the book for me. It read like a series of connected short stories. Several felt almost like filler and were not very relevant to the novel's true plot. ☹️http://www.novelvisits.com/perennials-mandy-berman-review/

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Librarylady
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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I loved this novel by Berman. It's a perfect read for our summer-like weather this weekend. Two girls and their friendship which develops at summer camp is the focus. Berman's story is told by the girls and other characters- their mothers, camp counselors- letting the readers see them through others' eyes.

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Alfoster
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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Pickpick

This was an interesting coming-of-age debut with girls at a summer camp going from campers to counselors and dealing with secrets, desires, sex, and how we can re-invent ourselves when we're away from home. If you have memories of camp from your childhood, you might like this!
😍
Thanks to #NetGalley for this ARC

85 likes2 stack adds
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bookishkai
Perennials | Mandy Berman
Pickpick

Parts of this were rough, and I didn't always like the characters, but if you attended and loved summer camp as a child, then that's what will keep you reading. The end was shocking even though I should have seen it coming. I enjoyed it, overall.

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bookishkai
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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Dying laughing. At my camp this was called the CIT Morning Song and we only sang it on Sunday mornings when the 100 campers were under the care of 14 and 15 year old CITs (and two adult staff). And our version of this line was "shhhhhh, they're SLEEPING!"

50 likes1 stack add
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Well-ReadNeck
Perennials | Mandy Berman
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Bailedbailed

#netgalley

Well I got to 25%. Was quick read, but nothing happening. With the exception of one adult scene, this would have been better categorized as YA. But mostly reading like listening in on teenage girl conversation without plot and an abrupt change of focus at one point.