Labor Day: A Novel (Hardcover)

"Maynard's inventive coming-of-age tale indelibly captures the anxiety and confusion inherent in adolescence, while the addition of a menacing element of suspense makes this emotionally fraught journey that much more harrowing." (Booklist )

"Maynard offers fresh insight into what constitutes family." (USA Today )

"Maynard deftly pulls the reader into the fragile lives of these three vulnerable characters and their preordained march toward the novel's denouement. A marvelous read--perfect for one long sitting--this novel leaves the reader wishing it didn't ever have to end." (BookPage )

"Maynard details Henry's roller-coaster emotions for Frank - he is both jealous and grateful - and his mother's emotional journeys - with skill and tenderness for the uncertain willingness of broken hearts to mend. The poignant results are revealing of our ability to forgive and to grow." (Smart Money )

"Maynard spins a fascinating story of damaged people seeking the one thing they long for - love. " (Wichita Falls, TX, Times Record News )

"[A] sweet, swift read that will leave you feeling good." (Minneapolis Star Tribune )

"[The] story is moving and fast-moving, affirming Maynard's reputation as a master storyteller and showing her to be a passionate humanist with a gifted ear and heart. . . . Maynard illuminates the human experience." (People (Four Stars) )

"But apart from being a successful thriller, this book is a fascinating portrait of what causes a family to founder, and how much it can cost to put it back on the right path. " (NPR.org )

"Maynard gets inside the head of an adolescent boy who is grappling with his own identity and the mysteries of sex (while revealing the secrets of making perfect pie crust). " (Salt Lake City Tribune )

"Maynard has created an ensemble of characters that will sneak into your heart, and warm it while it breaks." (St. Petersburg Times )

"a haunting and hopeful story" (Hartford Courant )

"The novel is an extended meditation on the nature of love, grief and loneliness.... Maynard has created an ensemble of characters that will sneak into your heart, and warm it while it breaks. " (St. Petersburg Times )

"It is a testament to Maynard's skill that she makes this ominous setup into a convincing and poignant coming-of-age tale." (Washington Post )

"Joyce Maynard is in top-notch form with Labor Day. From the perfect pitch of a teenaged boy narrator to the eloquent message of how loneliness can bind people together, this is simply a novel you cannot miss." (Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper and Handle With Care )

"Labor Day is suffused with tenderness, dreaminess and love....first and foremost a page-turner...[it] puts back together the world that it detroys....you definitely need to get a box of tissues." (Newsday )

"beautifully written" (New Orleans Times-Picayune )

"Labor Day is both a coming-of-age story and a love story- a tale of profound loss, redemption and soul searching that is not to be missed." (www.MyDailyFind.com )

"surprisingly moving" (Arizona Republic )

"Maynard expertly tugs heartstrings in a tidy tale. " (Kirkus Reviews )

"Labor Day is a startling novel of love, friendship, trust, treachery, betrayal, and the deep lessons that we learn in life.... It's a powerful, poignant mix in the hands of author Joyce Maynard and a novel no one should miss." (www.Gather.com )

"Maynard is in top form in this tale of love, betrayal, and forgiveness." (Associated Press )

"Maynard...is in top form in this tale of love, betrayal and forgiveness." (Record Searchlight (Redding, CA) )

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry—lonely, friendless, not too good at sports—spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele—a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.

But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others—especially those we love—above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.

In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's Atonement and Nick Hornby's About a Boy, acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery as seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy—and the man he later becomes—looking back at an unexpected encounter that begins one single long, hot, life-altering weekend.