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Shoulder Season

A Novel

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Named a Best Book of Summer by Good Morning America

  • CNN
  • Parade
  • EW
  • Travel & Leisure
  • PopSugar
  • New York Post
  • BuzzFeed
  • Brit & Co
  • SheReads
  • Women.com
    A dazzling portrait of a young woman coming into her own, the youthful allure of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and what we loseand gainwhen we leave home.
    ONCE IN A LIFETIME, YOU CAN HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE
    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.

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      • Library Journal

        February 1, 2021

        In Bly's Lizzie & Dante, a Shakespearean scholar heads to Italy after an ugly breakup and an end-of-the-road health diagnosis and meets a handsome chef--but is this any time to start a relationship? In debuter Christie's The Rehearsals, Megan Givens and Tom Prescott plan to call off their wedding after a calamitous rehearsal dinner but wake up the next morning in a time loop, endlessly repeating the event until maybe they get it right (100,000-copy first printing). Clancy's Shoulder Season reveals what happens when shy young church organist Sherri Taylor switches paths after her parents' death to become a Playboy bunny (100,000-copy first printing). The New York Times best-selling Guillory's While We Were Dating features Ben Stephens, Theo's brother from The Wedding Party, who's trying to stay strictly professional while working with a famous actress. In Macomber's stand-alone It's Better This Way, Julia Jones has sold her business, moved into a condominium, and put her marital breakup behind her, but she isn't looking for love--until handsome resident Heath comes along. In Island Queen, romance writer Riley goes mainstream historical to reimagine the life of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, who rose from enslavement to become a rich and powerful landowner in the colonial West Indies (100,000-copy first printing). Pretty Little Liars author Shepard's Safe in My Arms stars three out-of-the-loop moms who try to discover why the principal of the children's elite California preschool was attacked. If you've got Nine Lives, take this journey with Steel from Chicago and Paris to London and Monaco. In Hugo/Bradbury/Eisner winner Straczynski's latest, an unsuccessful young writer pulls together a crew of equally disaffected folks, buys an old bus, and proclaims Together We Will Go--straight to California, where they will then drive off a cliff (100,000-copy first printing). In debuter Yoder's one-of-a-kind Nightbitch, a woman who's convinced that she is turning into a dog ferrets out answers in A Field Guide to Magical Women and links up with a group of mothers with their own secret persuasions. Optioned for film.

        Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • Publisher's Weekly

        May 31, 2021
        Clancy (The Second Home) delivers an engaging if overheated story of a woman’s trajectory from naive Midwesterner to Playboy Bunny, and, eventually, a new life in California. In 1981, recently orphaned Sherri Taylor, at 19, is hired to work at the Lake Geneva Playboy Club Resort, near her home of East Troy, Wis. Sherri quickly loses her innocence (by choice) and enters a world where cocaine and diet pills are the norm. An object of desire by guys who turn her off, she eventually encounters two men who steal her heart—one from California, another closer to home—and a heartbreaking accident forces Sherri to reevaluate her life and her friendships. She then drives to Los Angeles, where her luck begins to run out, but as the reader knows from a prologue set in the present day, things will turn out just fine. Despite some over-the-top melodrama, Clancy offers an entertaining behind-the-scenes view of the Lake Geneva resort, where wholesome, fresh-off-the-farm young women wear stiletto heels and skimpy costumes adorned with bunny tails and bunny ears, live in restricted dorms, and must adhere to rules about maintaining their weight and not mixing with customers. It’s not the most memorable tale, but it’s worth taking to the beach.

      • Booklist

        September 24, 2021
        After growing up in the small town of Easy Troy, walking into the Playboy Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, felt to Sherri Taylor like stepping into an entirely new world. Poured into the iconic costume, hustling for tips, and living with women from all walks of life, Sherri quickly understood that the Playboy Resort was an education, a job, and a lifestyle. But one with a seedy side. Sherri encounters more than her share of disrespectful customers and the access to alcohol and drugs soon becomes overwhelming. After an unexpected tragedy, Sherri flees the resort for a complicated journey of renewal. Jumping between the past and present, Clancy's (The Second Home, 2020) second novel leads readers through Sherri's upbringing, her brief but captivating career as a Playboy Bunny, and her late-in-life reflections. Based on true experiences, Shoulder Season is a clear-eyed look at a job so often shrouded in intrigue. Fans of J. Ryan Stradal and Elyssa Friedland will enjoy this Midwestern coming-of-age story that is tinged with tragedy and the lasting power of camaraderie.

        COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • Library Journal

        July 1, 2021

        In 1981, a Playboy resort opens in Lake Geneva, WI, and 19-year-old Sherri Taylor joins the organization. Sherri had spent her teenage years friendless while caring for her terminally ill mother. After her mother's death, Sherri got a last-minute invite from a childhood friend to tag along to Lake Geneva, which led the former church organist to a life she never thought possible--one with friends, parties, and an opportunity to leave her tragic past behind. No longer held down by the expectations of others, Sherri learns to take ownership of her sexuality and pride in her work. Soon, her heart is torn between beautiful, distant bad boy Mitch and kind, smart Arthur. Her inability to choose between the two leads to tragedy, and her life quickly spirals out of control. VERDICT Spanning decades and ranging from the Midwest to California, Clancy's second novel (after The Second House) is an elegiac ode to a place that might feel at once familiar and lost to time. Uneven pacing causes some scenes to fly by too quickly, and the denouement feels like a reading marathon, but fans of J. Ryan Stradal and Jami Attenberg will root anyway for Sherri to come out on top.--Portia Kapraun, Delphi P.L., IN

        Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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