A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell comes Slow Dance—her smartest, funniest, most powerful novel yet
"If you, like me, think thirty-somethings methodically working through their issues is very hot, Slow Dance is the book for you. The people in it feel like people you know or maybe even people you've been. Slow Dance is sexy, sweet, wise, and nostalgic—Jane Austen's Persuasion for our times."
— Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times bestselling author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Shiloh Butler was supposed to get out of north Omaha.
She used to sit out on the front porch with her best friend, Cary, and plot their escape. Shiloh was going to be an actress – she had a scholarship to a good school – and Cary was laser-focused on the Navy. Sharp, stoic, golden-eyed Cary . . . thin as a stick of gum and poor as dirt. He was probably the most decent person Shiloh has ever known. She hasn't spoken to him in fourteen years.
When Shiloh gets an invitation to a high school friend's wedding, Cary is the first and only thing on her mind.
She desperately wants to see him again, but she doesn't know if she can bear being seen by him. What would Cary think of Shiloh at thirty-three? A divorced mom living in the same house she grew up in. Someone who works behind a desk, not onstage.
Would Cary even want to see Shiloh after all this time? After everything?
The answer, it turns out, is yes.
In her triumphant return to adult fiction, Rainbow Rowell has written a love story so honest and human – so cathartic – you'll feel it in your bones. Slow Dance is as sharp and compassionate as you'd expect from Rowell. Deeply, profoundly romantic, it's a power ballad of a book.
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell comes Slow Dance—her smartest, funniest, most powerful novel yet
"If you, like me, think thirty-somethings methodically working through their issues is very hot, Slow Dance is the book for you. The people in it feel like people you know or maybe even people you've been. Slow Dance is sexy, sweet, wise, and nostalgic—Jane Austen's Persuasion for our times."
— Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times bestselling author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Shiloh Butler was supposed to get out of north Omaha.
She used to sit out on the front porch with her best friend, Cary, and plot their escape. Shiloh was going to be an actress – she had a scholarship to a good school – and Cary was laser-focused on the Navy. Sharp, stoic, golden-eyed Cary . . . thin as a stick of gum and poor as dirt. He was probably the most decent person Shiloh has ever known. She hasn't spoken to him in fourteen years.
When Shiloh gets an invitation to a high school friend's wedding, Cary is the first and only thing on her mind.
She desperately wants to see him again, but she doesn't know if she can bear being seen by him. What would Cary think of Shiloh at thirty-three? A divorced mom living in the same house she grew up in. Someone who works behind a desk, not onstage.
Would Cary even want to see Shiloh after all this time? After everything?
The answer, it turns out, is yes.
In her triumphant return to adult fiction, Rainbow Rowell has written a love story so honest and human – so cathartic – you'll feel it in your bones. Slow Dance is as sharp and compassionate as you'd expect from Rowell. Deeply, profoundly romantic, it's a power ballad of a book.
Reviews-
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April 1, 2024
Bestselling YA author Rowell (Eleanor & Park) serves up a powerful and poignant tale of first love for adult romance readers. Growing up in underprivileged north Omaha, Neb., best friends Shiloh, Cary, and Mikey relied on each other—but Shiloh and Cary always had something more than friendship simmering between them. Shiloh asks Cary to be her first sexual experience shortly before he leaves for the Navy. Mike, too, leaves town, heading for New York City, where he becomes a sought-after artist. Only Shiloh is left behind. Fourteen years later, she’s still stuck in town, divorced, with two young children, and living with her mother. After Mikey moves back to Omaha and invites both her and Cary to his wedding, the old friends have a chance to start over—but will they take it? Rowell’s skillful plotting makes the path to the answer deeply affecting, illustrating how regret holds back her imperfect but appealing characters. Though readers may be irked by some of the obstacles Shiloh and Cary toss into their own paths, it’s still easy to root for these two to get a happy ending. Rich, real, and emotionally raw, this satisfying contemporary is sure to impress. Agent: Christopher Schelling, Selectric Artists. -
Listeners will savor this story of high school soulmates reuniting under less-than-ideal circumstances. Narrator Rebecca Lowman has a subtly elegant voice that allows the story to shine. Shiloh and Cary were best friends in high school who were secretly in love, but self-doubt and immaturity kept them apart. Eventually, they lost touch. Now 33 and divorced with two kids, Shiloh desperately hopes to see Cary at a mutual friend's wedding. Cary prays Shiloh attends the wedding. Telling the story from alternating perspectives, Lowman aptly portrays different characters with subtle vocal changes. Cary and Shiloh have relatable real-world obstacles to overcome. Lowman captures complicated emotions in her performance with her pacing and tone. A.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
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December 6, 2024
Narrator Rebecca Lowman offers an understated yet attuned performance of YA author Rowell's second adult novel (after Landline). Divorced and living with her mother and two young children, drama teacher Shiloh meets up with her estranged high school best friend Cary, now a naval officer, at their friend Mikey's second wedding. The years fall away as Shiloh and Cary reconnect, only to be thrown apart as uncomfortable memories from the past surface. Lowman accompanies listeners through the characters' complicated history, full of misunderstandings, lost chances, and the insecurities of youth. Her reading of the characters' blossoming relationship in the present is nuanced, communicating the gentle thrill of romantic possibilities combined with self-doubt and the grown-up concerns of family, responsibilities, careers, and money. The nearly palpable longing between Shiloh and Cary is deliciously drawn out and will have listeners rapt, wondering if and how the couple will find their happily ever after. VERDICT True to its name, Rowell's beautifully paced latest is sweet and awkward, with many missteps, aching self-doubt, and the promise of a lasting connection. A delicate and layered romantic tale that makes an impact.--Sarah Hashimoto
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
