Title: Reunion
Author: Therese Fowler
Genre/Pages: Fiction; 313 pages
Publication: Ballantine Books; 3/24/2009
Rating: 3.5 BOOKMARKS
Reunion opens with a flashback: Harmony Blue Kucharski finds herself, at 19, unmarried and about to give birth to a baby she gives up for adoption, a decision that will haunt her for the next 20-odd years, despite her rise to celebrity as a television talk-show host.
After giving her son up for adoption and repackaging herself as Blue Reynolds, her persistence and hard work pay off with a successful career as a talk show host. Blue’s regrets and need to know what became of her son ultimately lead her to discovering who she really is and what really matters in life.
This book was such a terrfic vehicle to usher in the summer! Reading Reunion put me in the mood for sandy beaches and vacation. The exposition is mainly Chicago and Key West, but references to the Middle East are also peppered through the novel.
Fowler’s writing was descriptive and the imagery made Key West come to life for me–so much so that I’m planning to visit in the fall. Additionally, the use of bird imagery brought to mind freedom–especially when one character mentions that macaws are sometimes set free in Key West. To me it was a symbolic parallel of Blue being set free from her cage (celebrity lifestyle, painful past) after impulsively buying a home in Key West.
The title Reunion is so apt–Blue not only reunites with an old flame, but also with an old mentor and his wife, her sister, mother, and most importantly, Blue reunites with herself–Harmony Blue. While reuniting with her 19-year-old self, she finally forgives the decisions she made in the past. With that forgiveness comes her ability to open herself to love and be loved, to live and enjoy life, which she does with abandon.
Thanks to Dorothy at Pump Up Your Book Promotion for the opportunity to review Reunion!
Book, Line, and Sinker 
Thank you for the wonderful review, Natalie!
This is the type of book I need to take on holiday with me. I love books that put me in the mood for the beach.
Yay! This sounds like a great read. Key West is definitely gorgeous — one of those places that seems too awesome to be real. I was there around the age of 12 — I’d love to go back as an adult!
I’ll definitely look for this one… anything about self-discovery is all right by me!
This book does sound like a great beach read. Love your review!
Natalie, thanks so much for this lovely review! You are such an astute reader; it’s a pleasure to see you take note of some of the themes and imagery in the book.
I hope you enjoy your trip to Key West!
Take care,
Therese
I so dearly want to visit the Keys… I want a beach vacation, interesting people to watch and plenty of fishing things to send the man off to.
I’m now adding this to my pile of summer reads. Just need to find a cute swimsuit, and I’m off to the beach! Thanks for the review.
I’m looking forward to reading this later this week!
This does sound like a great beach read – I love what you wrote about the imagery.
This sounds like one I’d like. I’ll add it to my TBR list. Thanks!
We visited Key West on a cruise vacation and it was totally adorable. I hope to go back some time and have more time to explore.
This was a great read to usher in the summer! Nice review!
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