Malibu Rising is a
historical fiction
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
novel by
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Taylor Jenkins Reid is an American author most known for her novels ''The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo'', '' Daisy Jones & The Six'', and '' Malibu Rising''.
Career
Reid graduated from Emerson College in Boston and majored in media studies. She ...
, published June 1, 2021 by
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...
. The book was a
''New York Times'' best seller.
It is being adapted by
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
into a TV show.
Plot
The prologue opens with
Malibu's history of fires. The Malibu fire of 1983 began on August 27, the day of Nina Riva's annual summer party. The person who started the fire remains a mystery.
Nina Riva wakes alone at 7 in the morning. Her husband recently left her after having an affair, and she dreads people asking her about him that night at the party. Nina has two brothers: Jay, a professional surfer, and Hud, a surf photographer, who work together on occasion. Their youngest sibling is their sister Kit, who is going into her junior year of college.
In a flashback to 1956, the siblings' parents, June and Mick Riva meet in Malibu just as Mick was beginning his career as a singer. After he and June have Nina and Jay, a woman appears at June's door while Mick was on tour—revealing that Mick is the father of her son Hud, whom she leaves with June. June forgives Mick for his affair, but he eventually leaves her to marry another woman. After that marriage ends in divorce, Mick returns to June. They soon remarry and have Kit. However, Mick soon leaves again. June increasingly drinks while her children largely take care of themselves. June dies by drowning, and Nina becomes her siblings' guardian. Eventually, she is discovered surfing and becomes a professional model, using the money to support her siblings. She marries professional tennis player Brandon Randall in
1982.
In the present, Jay seeks the attention of Lara, a woman he recently slept with, feeling comforted by her belief that he will be okay despite his newly diagnosed heart condition. She is the only one he has told, so he confirms that she will be at the party. Kit hopes to kiss a boy for the first time at the party. Hud agonizes over how he will tell Jay about his relationship with Ashley. Nina and her siblings meet at the restaurant for lunch and go surfing together.
Just before seven, Brandon appears and tells Nina that he wants to come home. Brandon begs Nina to take him back, professing his love publicly and forcing her to say "yes." At the party, Nina realizes Ashley and Hud are sleeping together, as Ashley tells Hud that she is pregnant. Nina also meets Casey, a young woman wandering around the party, who turns out to also be Mick's daughter.
Kit kisses Ricky Esposito and immediately realizes that she isn't interested in kissing men. She comes out to Ricky. In Hud's truck, Jay tells Lara he's in love with her. They start to have sex, but Jay discovers nude photos of Ashley in the glove compartment. Afterward, he reiterates that he loves Lara, who doesn't feel the same way. Enraged, Jay goes to find Hud, who decides to tell Jay the truth — Hud will be a father.
Brandon's mistress arrives, and Nina realizes she doesn't have to blandly accept everything that happens to her. Nina tells Brandon to leave.
Mick arrives to find Jay and Hud fighting, and he breaks them apart. He and his children talk. Mick wants to be a part of their lives again. All are suspicious, and Nina says that Mick hasn't really changed. Her siblings are shocked by her bluntness. Even though Mick is sorry for what he's done, his love still doesn't mean much to Nina. Mick admits that he doesn't remember whether he slept with Casey's mother. He also explains that he wasn't capable of being a parent, angering Nina because she didn't get to decide whether she was capable after June died. She just did what she needed to do for her family, even though she'd rather be surfing in Portugal. Mick decides to leave his children alone. He goes back to the house and handles the cops who were called when the party got out of hand.
The others accept Casey as part of their family and encourage Nina to go to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. She agrees to leave, realizing they can take care of themselves. Jay forgives Hud, who proposes to Ashley. The brothers also agree to help Kit become a professional surfer.
As Mick leaves, he flicks his cigarette into the dry grass, lighting the fire that will destroy Nina's house and ignite the coast. However, just as each Riva child will rebuild their life, Malibu will be born anew.
Reception
''Malibu Rising'' was a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' and IndieBound best seller.
The book received a starred review from ''
Booklist
''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
'', as well as positive reviews from ''
Kirkus
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'',
''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
,'' ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'', ''
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...
'', ''
Elle
''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...
,'' and ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
.''
''
The New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
'' gave it a mixed review. Booklist gave the audiobook a starred review.
In June 2021,
Jenna Bush Hager
Jenna Welch Bush Hager (born November 25, 1981) is an American news personality, author, and journalist. She is the co-host of ''Today with Hoda & Jenna'', the fourth hour of NBC's morning news program ''Today (U.S. TV program), Today.'' Hager an ...
selected ''Malibu Rising'' for the Read with Jenna Book Club on the ''
Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...
''.
''Malibu Rising'' landed on "best of" lists from ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'',
TIME
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
,
PopSugar, and ''
Teen Vogue
''Teen Vogue'' is an American online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', targeted at teenagers. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and celebrities. Since ...
.''
The book also won Best Historical Fiction of 2021 for the
Goodreads Choice Awards
The Goodreads Choice Awards is a yearly award program, first launched on Goodreads in 2009.
Winners are determined by crowdvoting, users voting on books that Goodreads has nominated or books of their choosing, released in the given year. Most boo ...
.
Adaptation
Before the book was released,
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
purchased rights to adapt it into a television miniseries.
Liz Tigelaar
Rachel Elizabeth Tigelaar (born October 4, 1975) is an American television writer, producer, and author.
She has worked on the series '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''American Dreams'', ''Once and Again'', ''Once Upon a Time'', ''Revenge'', '' Bates ...
will be the executive producer as well as Taylor Jenkins Reid, and
Amy Talkington
Amy Virginia Talkington (born 1969) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and author.
Background
Talkington was born in Dallas, Texas. Her father, Clement Talkington, is a surgeon; her mother, Virginia Savage McAlester, is an architectural ...
is writing the screen adaptation.
References
{{reflist
Ballantine Books books
2021 American novels