Welcome to Newport Beach, California--a community often found glittering in the spotlight, but one that isn't always as glamorous as we imagine.... read full description
reviews
Jan 29, 2012
Becky
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I really enjoyed this book--so much so that I was quite sad to reach the ending. The plots are original and carefully formulated, as are the intertwining characters. The continuity is flawless, even if the book does jump about in time. The voice, one of innocence, experience, and sometimes a bit jaded, serves the writer well. I felt so sorry for Rosie coming of age in such a brash, unprepared manner. John Wayne brought about pity and wonder and a hint of childhood wistfulness in his eternal
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Jan 29, 2012
Memorable. I'm still thinking about the brain injured skater and poor little Rosie.
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Jan 29, 2012
Natasha
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Such vivid characters and story-telling that left me breathless at times.
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Jan 29, 2012
g
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Like many Bay Area denizens, I am fascinated and repulsed by Southern California, so a collection like this has a powerful draw. I almost put it down after the first story, which was unremarkable; it was the author's eloquent contributions to several of my favorite lit blogs that made me reconsider, and I'm glad I stuck with it.
Drift is a series of interconnected short stories about the underbelly of Newport Beach, one of the wealthiest communities in California (seen The O.C.?). As More...
Drift is a series of interconnected short stories about the underbelly of Newport Beach, one of the wealthiest communities in California (seen The O.C.?). As More...
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Jan 29, 2012
Saskia Marijke
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On the Rough is what you call this poignant coming of age story in a deceitful glittery, sparkley world of bling bling where reality can be even uglier due to the fact that it is not openly accepted or discussed. It is precisely the hush hush that becomes the conspicuous ally to continuous abuse and dysfunction. Where can a young girl take her secrets when her world pressures her to conform and be pretty? How can one openly rebel against the whole of society and come on top? How can one be free
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Jan 29, 2012
Holly
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This novel is a powerhouse. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but once I was about 50 pages in I was hooked. Each short story is set in a different time, surrounding different characters, yet they all seem to intersect each other. If I had to pick a lead character I would say that Rosie is the central character. She seems to be the linking character in the stories. The links are surprising and believable.
The stories deal with issues such as sexual abuse, drug use, alcohol, comi More...
The stories deal with issues such as sexual abuse, drug use, alcohol, comi More...
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Jan 29, 2012
Monica
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A beautifully crafted collection of stories about seeking connection in a world that is fundamentally fragmented. These characters will haunt you long after you've put this work down. I felt the collection overall was very well structured and the prose is very beautiful.
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Jan 29, 2012
Melissa
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Read it in one day. I really liked how the characters in some stories overlapped in other character's stories. Rosie's stories were the most moving, though a little bit depressing.
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Jan 29, 2012
Patricia
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Connected short stories abut a group of lost souls (adolescents and young adult)in a community of wealthy, shallow adults.
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Jan 29, 2012
Katherine
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an excellent book by a talented author that captures what it was like to grow up in Newport in the 80s--first rate.
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Jan 29, 2012
Scott
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Drift has edge, and, in the beginning, this edge made it a breathtaking--almost dangerous--read. However, as the book concluded, its edge started to feel forced, thus negating its overall effect.
Patterson has successfully written a captivating collection of intertwined stories taking place in Newport Beach (of all places). Most of the stories star recurring female protagonists, and most deal with very real issues of common life, even if in an uncommon locale. Patterson pulls no punches More...
Patterson has successfully written a captivating collection of intertwined stories taking place in Newport Beach (of all places). Most of the stories star recurring female protagonists, and most deal with very real issues of common life, even if in an uncommon locale. Patterson pulls no punches More...
Jan 29, 2012
Suzanne
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Beyond the Botox and designer handbags – there is a Newport Beach with regular people in it. I loved this collection of interconnected short stories. Simple and skillful writing, nothing flashy, but the way Patterson can evoke people, places, feelings, is impressive, it is all vivid, honest and real. When she describes a swimming pool, light playing across the surface, I positively ache for cool water. The POV characters are mostly young, at the fringes of this society full of money, conform
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Jan 29, 2012
May-Ling
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this book is strange in that until chapter 3, i didn't realize this was one story as opposed to a collection of short stories. characters and settings kept changing, so when the same names came up again, i had to flip back to figure out what was happening.
patterson has a writing style that's easy to read and i flew through this book in a couple days. it's rough to keep reading about people down on their luck. also, from the back cover, i expected more of a diversity of characters, as o More...
patterson has a writing style that's easy to read and i flew through this book in a couple days. it's rough to keep reading about people down on their luck. also, from the back cover, i expected more of a diversity of characters, as o More...
Jan 29, 2012
Malena
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I really enjoyed this linked collection set in Newport Beach. I think that Patterson is a great writer, and her stories took me into the lives of people (and a place--Orange County) I'm not used to seeing in literature. I liked the way that there would be subtle and compelling links between the stories, so that you'd learn more and more about the characters as you experienced them in a web of interaction. Nice variety of voices and points of view, too. I look forward to Patterson's novel.
Jan 29, 2012
Nick
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I liked trying to figure out the links between these stories of Newport Beach, California, stories that work on their own but are also connected through certain characters. At times they were bleak, but Patterson is also great at exploring their emotions and the intricacies of the ways that people react to each other. She also has a way of using language that is never wasteful that I really appreciated.
Jan 29, 2012
Luis
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Sometimes, the writing isn't enough, the language doesn't seem to capture the moment or the moment doesn't capture the feeling and the book hardly manages to escape from the insular world it's created; however, there are some harrowing stories in here, some touching stuff. It's just a little uneven.
Jan 29, 2012
Harvey
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While I didn't care for the themes of her novel, This Vacant Paradise, I did admire Patterson's writing skills. In this earlier story collection the same themes of Class and Gender roles are explored. The writing continues to impress and Patterson knows this turf.
Jan 29, 2012
Carol
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A book of linked stories. A very modern sensibility, but not sufficiently engaging for me.
Jan 29, 2012
