The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach

August 1, 2015
In 1941, 16-year-old Adelia Montforte's parents manage to get her out of Italy, where it is no longer safe for Jews. She finds herself living in Philadelphia with her aunt and uncle. They spend their summers in Atlantic City, where the Connallys, an Irish Catholic family with four boys, live next door. Addie falls in love with Charlie, the oldest boy, but just as they are about to announce their engagement, a family tragedy convinces Addie that their love is doomed. She escapes to Washington, takes a secretarial job at the Washington Post, and then, when Charlie shows up, escapes further to England to work in the Post's London bureau. Charlie pops up again, this time on his way to carry out a dangerous mission on the eve of D-Day. But their plans to get married run into a last-minute hitch. The novel ends with a twist as Addie returns to the U.S. and reunites with the Connallys. Jenoff has made a specialty of wartime romance, and fans of her other works, including The Kommandant's Girl (2007) and The Winter Guest (2014), won't be disappointed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)