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End of August
A captivating, multigenerational debut novel of a young woman navigating the personal trauma that ties herself, her nomadic mother, and her alcoholic grandmother together, perfect for fans of Ask Again, Yes and What the Fireflies Knew.
1979. Fifteen-year-old Aurora Taylor’s single mother prefers to leave when things get hard. She’s spent years abandoning bad boyfriends and dead-end jobs, without so much as a glance in the rearview mirror. After fifteen years in the passenger seat, Aurora needs more than two hands to count the towns she’s lived in. She’s learned to live small—it’s easier to leave when you don’t need to say goodbye. So when her mother Laine shows up at school with the car loaded, Aurora assumes her latest fling has run its course. Instead, it’s her grandpa Jay’s death calling them back to the town Laine has spent fifteen years running from.
Every visit to Monroe, Indiana ends in an explosive fight. Her mother and her Gran are oil and water, and it doesn’t take Aurora long to realize Gran has fallen off the wagon—again. With Gran drinking, and Laine’s discomfort in the little blue house, Aurora gives their visit a week, tops. But when Laine begins an affair with the town’s married mailman, everything changes. While her mom falls in love with a man she can’t have, Aurora has time to fall in love with the town. Her life begins to feel full—she has a friend to call her own, a gran who loves her, and a picture-perfect pastor’s son who sees Aurora as more than “Laine’s daughter.” It’s everything she never let herself dream about.
As the summer months march on, and her mom’s happiness becomes even more dependent on her unstable new relationship, Aurora worries the dream she allowed herself will end in heartbreak. This isn’t just another map dot on their endless journey, and Laine won’t just burn a bridge this time. Her choices threaten to light the town on fire, burning Gran’s hope, Aurora’s future, and her own chance at redemption to the ground with it.
1979. Fifteen-year-old Aurora Taylor’s single mother prefers to leave when things get hard. She’s spent years abandoning bad boyfriends and dead-end jobs, without so much as a glance in the rearview mirror. After fifteen years in the passenger seat, Aurora needs more than two hands to count the towns she’s lived in. She’s learned to live small—it’s easier to leave when you don’t need to say goodbye. So when her mother Laine shows up at school with the car loaded, Aurora assumes her latest fling has run its course. Instead, it’s her grandpa Jay’s death calling them back to the town Laine has spent fifteen years running from.
Every visit to Monroe, Indiana ends in an explosive fight. Her mother and her Gran are oil and water, and it doesn’t take Aurora long to realize Gran has fallen off the wagon—again. With Gran drinking, and Laine’s discomfort in the little blue house, Aurora gives their visit a week, tops. But when Laine begins an affair with the town’s married mailman, everything changes. While her mom falls in love with a man she can’t have, Aurora has time to fall in love with the town. Her life begins to feel full—she has a friend to call her own, a gran who loves her, and a picture-perfect pastor’s son who sees Aurora as more than “Laine’s daughter.” It’s everything she never let herself dream about.
As the summer months march on, and her mom’s happiness becomes even more dependent on her unstable new relationship, Aurora worries the dream she allowed herself will end in heartbreak. This isn’t just another map dot on their endless journey, and Laine won’t just burn a bridge this time. Her choices threaten to light the town on fire, burning Gran’s hope, Aurora’s future, and her own chance at redemption to the ground with it.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published February 11, 2025
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5778 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
October 15, 2024
Aurora Taylor is fifteen years old, her mother Laine was only a teenager when she was born and they don’t stay on one place for long. Aurora is getting sick of her mums nomadic ways, and they have moved eighteen times in her lifetime. When Laine shows up at school with the car all packed, Aurora assumes her mum’s latest boyfriend has dumped her and she’s wrong.
Laine hates Monroe, Indiana, the small town where she grew up, she has no choice but to return, see how her mum Katherine is coping with her loss and attended her step-father's funeral. Katherine was an alcoholic and is now sober and both Laine and Aurora worry she will fall off the wagon. Aurora assumes they will stay a week and her mum will get itchy feet and have an argument with Katherine. Laine has started flirting with the town’s married mailman, and this makes Aurora anxious and she knows it’s going to end in disaster.
Aurora is happy living in Monroe and in her grandma’s blue house, and can’t believe it when the pastor’s son asks her on a date and despite her being “a Taylor”, started a summer job and she has a sinking feeling this could change in an instant. Aurora’s mother’s bad decisions have always affected her and this time she has much more to lose, she has a home, she and her grandmother get on well, Aurora wants to be a normal teenager, attend school and learn to drive, she’s met the nicest boy and he introduces her to his friends and parents and she knows if anyone finds out what her mother’s up to she’s going to be a social outcast and they will be run out of town.
I received a copy of End of August by Paige Dinneny from NetGalley and Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review. Wow, I can’t believe this is the authors debut novel, at the start I was thinking this might be a three star read and I was incorrect. A multi-generational narrative set in 1979 and you can imagine what people thought about a thirty one year old single mother with a fifteen daughter, and people all assume the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and they are wrong.
A story about family and conflict, abandonment and addiction, breaking the cycle and finding a home, and first crushes and young love. Katherine’s, Karl’s, Claire- Anne’s, and Harry’s and Aurora's characters are delightful and in different ways and they made me laugh out loud and five stars from me and I highly recommend.
Laine hates Monroe, Indiana, the small town where she grew up, she has no choice but to return, see how her mum Katherine is coping with her loss and attended her step-father's funeral. Katherine was an alcoholic and is now sober and both Laine and Aurora worry she will fall off the wagon. Aurora assumes they will stay a week and her mum will get itchy feet and have an argument with Katherine. Laine has started flirting with the town’s married mailman, and this makes Aurora anxious and she knows it’s going to end in disaster.
Aurora is happy living in Monroe and in her grandma’s blue house, and can’t believe it when the pastor’s son asks her on a date and despite her being “a Taylor”, started a summer job and she has a sinking feeling this could change in an instant. Aurora’s mother’s bad decisions have always affected her and this time she has much more to lose, she has a home, she and her grandmother get on well, Aurora wants to be a normal teenager, attend school and learn to drive, she’s met the nicest boy and he introduces her to his friends and parents and she knows if anyone finds out what her mother’s up to she’s going to be a social outcast and they will be run out of town.
I received a copy of End of August by Paige Dinneny from NetGalley and Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review. Wow, I can’t believe this is the authors debut novel, at the start I was thinking this might be a three star read and I was incorrect. A multi-generational narrative set in 1979 and you can imagine what people thought about a thirty one year old single mother with a fifteen daughter, and people all assume the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and they are wrong.
A story about family and conflict, abandonment and addiction, breaking the cycle and finding a home, and first crushes and young love. Katherine’s, Karl’s, Claire- Anne’s, and Harry’s and Aurora's characters are delightful and in different ways and they made me laugh out loud and five stars from me and I highly recommend.
February 12, 2025
Aurora Taylor is 15 years old in 1979, living with her single mother Laine who was just a teenager herself when Aurora was born. They've lived a nomadic life, never staying in one place very long, usually moving on due to the ending of one of her mother's romantic entanglements. When they receive word that Aurora's grandpa Jay has died they return to Monroe Indiana to stay with her grandmother.
As the summer passes, Aurora finds herself more and more content with her present living arrangements. For the first time ever she has a friend and has also started dating a fine young man, the pastor's son. She becomes close to her grandmother but worries about her mother who is a bit of a loose woman. The characters in this book are realistic and the story itself is well-written. It brought back memories of teenage crushes and heartbreak. Descriptions of the endless heat that summer were a welcome reprieve from the so-cold weather outside presently. Very well done for a debut novel with a heart-warming ending. I'll be watching for future works by this author. I love the cover as well.
I'm not sure how I feel about this being referred to as historical fiction since my son was born in 1979 and I'm sure it wasn't that long ago!
Thank you to Alcove Press, via Netgalley, for approving my request to read this debut novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
As the summer passes, Aurora finds herself more and more content with her present living arrangements. For the first time ever she has a friend and has also started dating a fine young man, the pastor's son. She becomes close to her grandmother but worries about her mother who is a bit of a loose woman. The characters in this book are realistic and the story itself is well-written. It brought back memories of teenage crushes and heartbreak. Descriptions of the endless heat that summer were a welcome reprieve from the so-cold weather outside presently. Very well done for a debut novel with a heart-warming ending. I'll be watching for future works by this author. I love the cover as well.
I'm not sure how I feel about this being referred to as historical fiction since my son was born in 1979 and I'm sure it wasn't that long ago!
Thank you to Alcove Press, via Netgalley, for approving my request to read this debut novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
August 30, 2025
EXCERPT: It's the end of August when my mother takes a break from being a mother, waving from the end of our driveway with a cigarette dangling from her ruby lips, looking left toward the interstate. It's the end of August when my mother leaves me behind, and even though I won't say it out loud, I think I'm relieved.
ABOUT 'END OF AUGUST': A young woman navigates the personal trauma that ties herself, her nomadic mother, and her alcoholic grandmother together.
1979. Fifteen-year-old Aurora Taylor’s single mother prefers to leave when things get hard. She’s spent years abandoning bad boyfriends and dead-end jobs, without so much as a glance in the rearview mirror. After fifteen years in the passenger seat, Aurora needs more than two hands to count the towns she’s lived in. She’s learned to live small—it’s easier to leave when you don’t need to say goodbye. So when her mother, Laine, shows up at school with the car loaded, Aurora assumes her latest fling has run its course. Instead, it’s her grandpa Jay’s death calling them back to the town Laine has spent fifteen years running from.
Every visit to Monroe, Indiana, ends in an explosive fight. Her mother and her Gran are oil and water, and it doesn’t take Aurora long to realize Gran has fallen off the wagon—again. With Gran drinking and Laine’s discomfort in the little blue house, Aurora gives their visit a week, tops. But when Laine begins an affair with the town’s married mailman, everything changes. While her mom falls in love with a man she can’t have, Aurora has time to fall in love with the town. Her life begins to feel full—she has a friend to call her own, a gran who loves her, and a picture-perfect pastor’s son who sees Aurora as more than “Laine’s daughter.” It’s everything she never let herself dream about.
As the summer months march on, and her mom’s happiness becomes even more dependent on her unstable new relationship, Aurora worries the dream she allowed herself will end in heartbreak. This isn’t just another map dot on their endless journey, and Laine won’t just burn a bridge this time. Her choices threaten to light the town on fire, burning Gran’s hope, Aurora’s future, and her own chance at redemption to the ground with it.
MY THOUGHTS: It seemed appropriate to read End of August by Paige Dinneny at the end of August.
In End of August, Dinneny explores the complexities of family dynamics - specifically that of two generations of mothers and their daughters. It is one of those quietly compelling reads that sucks the reader right into the pages and beyond. It is a slow book, one that meanders through the heat of a small-town America summer peppered by visits to Dairy Queen and Norma's - the local diner, the bowling alley, the drive-in and the town pool.
Laine is a careless and self-absorbed mother. Mind, she didn't have a great example to follow. Gran is a far better grandmother than she ever was a mother and I'd like to know far more of her back-story than is revealed here (not a criticism, just an observation). Despite eighteen moves in her fifteen years, Aurora has grown up smart, sassy and fiercely independent. It may not be how she wants to live, but it is just how things are.
Living in Monroe changes all that. Dinneny has created an atmospheric background for Aurora's coming-of-age story. Laine's happiness is a double-edged sword - one that may forever destroy any hopes Aurora may have of living a life where she belongs.
I was rooting for Aurora throughout. She is a lovely character - one who is naive in many respects but with a knowledge far beyond her years. The novel is narrated entirely from her pov.
There are no extraneous supporting characters - every supporting character adds something of value to the narrative.
End of August is a story which, in one form or another, is taking place in many places all over the world at any time. I liked that it was set before the complications of mobile phones and social media. It is not a happy story, but it is one in which I became completely immersed.
End of August is Paige Dinneny's debut novel.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.1
#EndofAugust #NetGalley
MEET THE AUTHOR: PAIGE DINNENY was born and raised in Southern California. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Cal State Long Beach where she began drafting her debut novel. She now lives in Spring Hill, Tennessee, working as a store manager by day, writer by night. When she’s not working or writing, she’s drinking way too much coffee and spending time with her two cats, Ernest and Marilynne. (SOURCE: paigedinneny.com - abridged)
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Alcove Press vis NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of End of August for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
ABOUT 'END OF AUGUST': A young woman navigates the personal trauma that ties herself, her nomadic mother, and her alcoholic grandmother together.
1979. Fifteen-year-old Aurora Taylor’s single mother prefers to leave when things get hard. She’s spent years abandoning bad boyfriends and dead-end jobs, without so much as a glance in the rearview mirror. After fifteen years in the passenger seat, Aurora needs more than two hands to count the towns she’s lived in. She’s learned to live small—it’s easier to leave when you don’t need to say goodbye. So when her mother, Laine, shows up at school with the car loaded, Aurora assumes her latest fling has run its course. Instead, it’s her grandpa Jay’s death calling them back to the town Laine has spent fifteen years running from.
Every visit to Monroe, Indiana, ends in an explosive fight. Her mother and her Gran are oil and water, and it doesn’t take Aurora long to realize Gran has fallen off the wagon—again. With Gran drinking and Laine’s discomfort in the little blue house, Aurora gives their visit a week, tops. But when Laine begins an affair with the town’s married mailman, everything changes. While her mom falls in love with a man she can’t have, Aurora has time to fall in love with the town. Her life begins to feel full—she has a friend to call her own, a gran who loves her, and a picture-perfect pastor’s son who sees Aurora as more than “Laine’s daughter.” It’s everything she never let herself dream about.
As the summer months march on, and her mom’s happiness becomes even more dependent on her unstable new relationship, Aurora worries the dream she allowed herself will end in heartbreak. This isn’t just another map dot on their endless journey, and Laine won’t just burn a bridge this time. Her choices threaten to light the town on fire, burning Gran’s hope, Aurora’s future, and her own chance at redemption to the ground with it.
MY THOUGHTS: It seemed appropriate to read End of August by Paige Dinneny at the end of August.
In End of August, Dinneny explores the complexities of family dynamics - specifically that of two generations of mothers and their daughters. It is one of those quietly compelling reads that sucks the reader right into the pages and beyond. It is a slow book, one that meanders through the heat of a small-town America summer peppered by visits to Dairy Queen and Norma's - the local diner, the bowling alley, the drive-in and the town pool.
Laine is a careless and self-absorbed mother. Mind, she didn't have a great example to follow. Gran is a far better grandmother than she ever was a mother and I'd like to know far more of her back-story than is revealed here (not a criticism, just an observation). Despite eighteen moves in her fifteen years, Aurora has grown up smart, sassy and fiercely independent. It may not be how she wants to live, but it is just how things are.
Living in Monroe changes all that. Dinneny has created an atmospheric background for Aurora's coming-of-age story. Laine's happiness is a double-edged sword - one that may forever destroy any hopes Aurora may have of living a life where she belongs.
I was rooting for Aurora throughout. She is a lovely character - one who is naive in many respects but with a knowledge far beyond her years. The novel is narrated entirely from her pov.
There are no extraneous supporting characters - every supporting character adds something of value to the narrative.
End of August is a story which, in one form or another, is taking place in many places all over the world at any time. I liked that it was set before the complications of mobile phones and social media. It is not a happy story, but it is one in which I became completely immersed.
End of August is Paige Dinneny's debut novel.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.1
#EndofAugust #NetGalley
MEET THE AUTHOR: PAIGE DINNENY was born and raised in Southern California. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Cal State Long Beach where she began drafting her debut novel. She now lives in Spring Hill, Tennessee, working as a store manager by day, writer by night. When she’s not working or writing, she’s drinking way too much coffee and spending time with her two cats, Ernest and Marilynne. (SOURCE: paigedinneny.com - abridged)
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Alcove Press vis NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of End of August for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
November 17, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Okay, so I just re-read this, and while I originally gave it three stars, I’m bumping it up to four because End of August has stayed with me in a way I wasn’t expecting. Yes, it’s a long book, and yes, it took me forever to finish because sometimes it felt like I was wandering through the same emotional cul-de-sac over and over, but the writing? Stunning. Paige Dinneny’s prose makes you want to sink into every melancholic sentence like it’s the last sunset of summer.
This book gives Shameless if it were directed by Greta Gerwig in her Mistakes Were Made era. Aurora is magnetic—she’s the kind of character you root for even when you know the odds are stacked against her. But everyone else? They feel like they’re stuck in the background of a Lana Del Rey music video, important to the aesthetic but not much else.
For a book about three generations of women, it spends a suspicious amount of time on men and romance. Like, we’re all here for yearning, but why does it have to be the centerpiece when the mother-daughter dynamic has so much more to say?
Let’s talk pacing. Reading this book is like driving through a town that’s just one endless stretch of stoplights. It’s slow, but in a way that makes you linger, that forces you to feel the ache of every stalled moment. It’s giving The Florida Project, but with even more dead-end streets and dreams held together by wishful thinking.
If you like books that lean into vibes—moody, small-town Americana with layers of generational trauma—this is for you. It’s not perfect (justice for female character development not centered on men), but it’s the kind of book that leaves a mark.
Thank you to Alcove Press for the advanced copy. End of August comes out February 11, 2025, and it’s worth adding to your TBR if you like stories that feel like a Midwest Polaroid in slow motion.
Okay, so I just re-read this, and while I originally gave it three stars, I’m bumping it up to four because End of August has stayed with me in a way I wasn’t expecting. Yes, it’s a long book, and yes, it took me forever to finish because sometimes it felt like I was wandering through the same emotional cul-de-sac over and over, but the writing? Stunning. Paige Dinneny’s prose makes you want to sink into every melancholic sentence like it’s the last sunset of summer.
This book gives Shameless if it were directed by Greta Gerwig in her Mistakes Were Made era. Aurora is magnetic—she’s the kind of character you root for even when you know the odds are stacked against her. But everyone else? They feel like they’re stuck in the background of a Lana Del Rey music video, important to the aesthetic but not much else.
For a book about three generations of women, it spends a suspicious amount of time on men and romance. Like, we’re all here for yearning, but why does it have to be the centerpiece when the mother-daughter dynamic has so much more to say?
Let’s talk pacing. Reading this book is like driving through a town that’s just one endless stretch of stoplights. It’s slow, but in a way that makes you linger, that forces you to feel the ache of every stalled moment. It’s giving The Florida Project, but with even more dead-end streets and dreams held together by wishful thinking.
If you like books that lean into vibes—moody, small-town Americana with layers of generational trauma—this is for you. It’s not perfect (justice for female character development not centered on men), but it’s the kind of book that leaves a mark.
Thank you to Alcove Press for the advanced copy. End of August comes out February 11, 2025, and it’s worth adding to your TBR if you like stories that feel like a Midwest Polaroid in slow motion.
September 17, 2024
I adored this book.
I am usually not the biggest fan of literary fiction but I was looking for a summer read to accompany me during vacations and picked it up on a whim. What an amazing decision it turned out to be!
I fell in love with the characters instantly, and I was pulled into their lives and their story fully. This book made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me worry and it made me hope, and it will stay with me for a long time. I can tell I will grieve the loss of these characters for a while.
I will without hesitation follow this author and read whatever they publish next, I believe in Dinneny's ability to craft a compelling and beautiful story and I am so excited to see what she writes in the future.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read this book.
I am usually not the biggest fan of literary fiction but I was looking for a summer read to accompany me during vacations and picked it up on a whim. What an amazing decision it turned out to be!
I fell in love with the characters instantly, and I was pulled into their lives and their story fully. This book made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me worry and it made me hope, and it will stay with me for a long time. I can tell I will grieve the loss of these characters for a while.
I will without hesitation follow this author and read whatever they publish next, I believe in Dinneny's ability to craft a compelling and beautiful story and I am so excited to see what she writes in the future.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read this book.
March 25, 2025
This was a good book, but I honestly think that it should have been tagged as a YA novel. The fact it isn't is a little confusing to me. Don't get me wrong, I know it deals with heavier topics like alcoholism but the book is entirely narrated by a 15-year-old protagonist and has a lot of those same thought processes going on just didn't click with me. I also just think that the pacing was a bit slow on the thing, if I was reading it physically I think it would have been a bit of a drag to get through.
March 18, 2025
End of August was a tenderly drawn family saga by debut author Paige Dinneny. It was rooted in the lives of three generations of strong, independent women. More specifically, Aurora, a 15 year old girl who had moved to more towns than she could count because of her unsettled mother. But this tale was also rooted in the lives of three generations of strong, independent women.
I am so grateful to have found this new author and given this novel a listen. Paige Dinneny wrote a beautiful, lovingly rendered coming-of-age story suited for adults and young adults alike.
Dinneny skillfully explored young love, flawed mother-daughter relationships, and the fight for a place to call home in a small town where summer days felt like a lifetime, and it was never too late to chase the joys of adolescence.
Regardless of Dinney’s proficiency, End of August was a slow burn. Fortunately, if it weren’t for the remarkably depicted storytelling filled with complex characters and a compelling prose, I would have preferred this story condensed.
A true indicator of a proficient author is drawing in their readers from the beginning. Dinneny’s intricate characters drew me in immediately and therefore proved her writing is adept.
Another indicator of a proficient author is their fabricated characters and Dinneny designed a distinctly complex protagonist. Amongst all the richly contrived characters, I adored Aurora the most. Her personality brought life to this bittersweet story. Aurora was kind hearted, sensitive, and had the purest heart. She also had a sensible and mature mind set for a girl her age. Aurora’s relationship with her mother, Laine, was contentious one. Aurora was the voice of reason, whereas her mother, she was mentally absent. Their relationship was the perfect example of role reversal. On the other hand, Aurora had the sweetest relationship with her Gran. Even though her Gran had her own issues, it was apparent that Aurora got along easier with Gran perhaps because of their two generational age difference. Even more, I appreciated how Dinneny captured the complex emotions of adolescence. She zeroed in on Aurora’s insecurities, the need to be accepted and to have normal experiences of girls her age. On the contrary, Laine was hard to sympathize with despite her traumatic upbringing. Laine was impulsive and reckless. She constantly chose destructive relationships which contributed to the dysfunction in their family.
As the story came to a close, I mostly delighted in Aurora’s newfound happiness. I also fancied sharing in her anxiety as she contemplated the ending of her happiness as a result of her mother’s choices.
Lastly, I was also fond of Dinneny’s illustration of how fate can pave the way through familial abandonment and addiction issues to build pathways to redemption.
All in all, Paige Dinneny delivered a captivating, multigenerational debut novel of a young woman navigating personal trauma. Although this was a slow paced novel, I recommend this one to those that love poignant multifaceted coming-of-age novels. (Audio)
I am so grateful to have found this new author and given this novel a listen. Paige Dinneny wrote a beautiful, lovingly rendered coming-of-age story suited for adults and young adults alike.
Dinneny skillfully explored young love, flawed mother-daughter relationships, and the fight for a place to call home in a small town where summer days felt like a lifetime, and it was never too late to chase the joys of adolescence.
Regardless of Dinney’s proficiency, End of August was a slow burn. Fortunately, if it weren’t for the remarkably depicted storytelling filled with complex characters and a compelling prose, I would have preferred this story condensed.
A true indicator of a proficient author is drawing in their readers from the beginning. Dinneny’s intricate characters drew me in immediately and therefore proved her writing is adept.
Another indicator of a proficient author is their fabricated characters and Dinneny designed a distinctly complex protagonist. Amongst all the richly contrived characters, I adored Aurora the most. Her personality brought life to this bittersweet story. Aurora was kind hearted, sensitive, and had the purest heart. She also had a sensible and mature mind set for a girl her age. Aurora’s relationship with her mother, Laine, was contentious one. Aurora was the voice of reason, whereas her mother, she was mentally absent. Their relationship was the perfect example of role reversal. On the other hand, Aurora had the sweetest relationship with her Gran. Even though her Gran had her own issues, it was apparent that Aurora got along easier with Gran perhaps because of their two generational age difference. Even more, I appreciated how Dinneny captured the complex emotions of adolescence. She zeroed in on Aurora’s insecurities, the need to be accepted and to have normal experiences of girls her age. On the contrary, Laine was hard to sympathize with despite her traumatic upbringing. Laine was impulsive and reckless. She constantly chose destructive relationships which contributed to the dysfunction in their family.
As the story came to a close, I mostly delighted in Aurora’s newfound happiness. I also fancied sharing in her anxiety as she contemplated the ending of her happiness as a result of her mother’s choices.
Lastly, I was also fond of Dinneny’s illustration of how fate can pave the way through familial abandonment and addiction issues to build pathways to redemption.
All in all, Paige Dinneny delivered a captivating, multigenerational debut novel of a young woman navigating personal trauma. Although this was a slow paced novel, I recommend this one to those that love poignant multifaceted coming-of-age novels. (Audio)
March 2, 2025
Wow. I’m almost at a loss for words. Going into End of August I feared it wouldn’t be my cup of tea because I tend to go for more fantasy/romance genres, but boy was I wrong!! This book feels like a hug and I literally couldn’t wait to read it every day. Paige’s ability to craft simultaneously compelling and comforting characters and their relationships to one another is truly remarkable. Paige invites you into Aurora, Gran, and Laine’s little world - their little house with the blinds drawn, the town of Monroe, the bowling alley, the Dairy Queen, the local pool - and I was in it. I was entirely captivated after just one chapter and I was truly sad for the story to end. I could stay in this little world forever. I cannot sing enough praises for End of August and the way it made me feel. I would absolutely love to see this adapted into a movie or a limited series, I think it would be sooo good. This is a book for everyone and I think everyone needs to read it. Well…what are you waiting for?? Go read it!! Now!!
December 10, 2024
Easy 5 stars.
Our choices affect others more than we think. Our mistakes can cast a long shadow over the lives of those we love. Some people run away from responsibilities and some prefer to drown them in a drink. Whatever our sins we all want to love and be loved. We all want to have a place we call home.
Anytime is a good time to start a new life, especially at the end of August.
Our choices affect others more than we think. Our mistakes can cast a long shadow over the lives of those we love. Some people run away from responsibilities and some prefer to drown them in a drink. Whatever our sins we all want to love and be loved. We all want to have a place we call home.
Anytime is a good time to start a new life, especially at the end of August.
July 20, 2024
I just loved this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the eARC. This releases in February 2025 and I highly recommend grabbing it when it does.
Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the eARC. This releases in February 2025 and I highly recommend grabbing it when it does.
July 18, 2024
This multigenerational story embodies the struggles of 15-year-old Aurora and her single mother who tends to pick up and move when the going gets tough. Her grandmother loves her and tries hard to care for her, but she has her own struggles with alcohol. Aurora must find her own happiness and hold on to it with all her might.
This is a very well written, emotional story that is sure to pique your interest. Thank you, NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.
This is a very well written, emotional story that is sure to pique your interest. Thank you, NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.
March 6, 2025
This story captures your heart from the very first word to the very last. Paige does a phenomenal job inviting you in to feel as if you’re right there in small town Indiana doing life with three generations of women. She tells a story that is relatable to many while providing the reader with hope that generational patterns can be broken. I was not ready for this book to end because it felt as if I had formed a friendship with Aurora and I wasn’t ready for the friendship to be over. I wouldn’t hate a sequel!
December 29, 2024
This a story of a mother and daughter who have lived their lives in various places over the years. Whenever the mother feels as if her life is too difficult, they move, typically abandoning much in the process, her mother’s boyfriend being the cause.
When her mother says they must move once again, Aurora isn’t exactly happy with it, but accepts it, because, in part the return is to return to the town when her grandfather’s death calls them to return, really, what else can she do? But when they arrive in this town, Aurora, eventually, finds herself happier than before. She might not have a lot of friends, but she feels accepted. She makes friends with a boy who seems to genuinely care for her, about her. Meanwhile, her mother is being wooed by a new man in her life, which makes her mother, and her, somewhat of a target.
When Aurora is introduced to the boy’s parents, they are happy to finally meet her, and they accept her, despite the rumours throughout town about her mother.
A story of young love, of family, loss and finding your own path in life.
Pub Date: 11 Feb 2025
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Alcove Press
July 28, 2024
Thank you, Alcove Press, for the advance reading copy.
I love the blurb of the book and it is exactly as it is. The writing is good and the characters are believable.
However, I feel like I was reading a book I have read and loved before.
I love how the characters of three different generations are struggling with their own challenges and how they come to terms with them. I wanted more character development and the romance to be more interesting.
However, I would say the closure towards the end is commendable.
I would recommend this book for the readers who are looking for a weekend getaway read.
I love the blurb of the book and it is exactly as it is. The writing is good and the characters are believable.
However, I feel like I was reading a book I have read and loved before.
I love how the characters of three different generations are struggling with their own challenges and how they come to terms with them. I wanted more character development and the romance to be more interesting.
However, I would say the closure towards the end is commendable.
I would recommend this book for the readers who are looking for a weekend getaway read.
August 28, 2024
End of August is being added to my favorites list! This story takes place in 1979 Indiana, where a mother and daughter make their way back home to attend the funeral of the mother's step father. This story is about what it means to be in love, truly in love. How some come and go but the true people in your life will always be there. It is about heartbreak. moving on and growing up. It dealt with extremely tough topics of addiction, infidelity, the meaning of home, small town dynamics and the toll this all takes on a teen and those around them.
Aurora, her mother and grandmother are some of the most amazingly complex and wildly entertaining characters I have encountered in some time. End of August will be on my yearly reading list going forward. I highly recommend to anyone! This was such a great book! I loved it! All the stars!
I would like to thank NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me ARC access. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Aurora, her mother and grandmother are some of the most amazingly complex and wildly entertaining characters I have encountered in some time. End of August will be on my yearly reading list going forward. I highly recommend to anyone! This was such a great book! I loved it! All the stars!
I would like to thank NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me ARC access. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
March 27, 2025
✨Why are we not all talking about this book? It’s the tenderly nostalgic coming-of-age story of a teenage girl longing for a place to call home during the summer of 1979 in small-town Indiana.
✨It has a cast of characters that are flawed and complicated but that you can’t help but fall in love with (even when you want to wring their necks) and a heartbreaking conflict that keeps you turning the pages.
✨It’s a slow burn that draws you into the lives of the characters and their small town such that you never want to leave. I was honestly sad when the last page was turned; I wanted the story to continue.
🎧I paired the print with the audio version of this book and was absolutely swept away to the Indiana summer of 1979. The narration by Renee Dorian @reneedorian was fabulous. She voiced each unique character with its own distinct voice, and the performance was impeccable.
🌿Read if you like:
✨Multigenerational family drama
✨Historical fiction
✨Coming of age
✨Summer break tales
✨1970s nostalgia
✨Indiana settings
✨It has a cast of characters that are flawed and complicated but that you can’t help but fall in love with (even when you want to wring their necks) and a heartbreaking conflict that keeps you turning the pages.
✨It’s a slow burn that draws you into the lives of the characters and their small town such that you never want to leave. I was honestly sad when the last page was turned; I wanted the story to continue.
🎧I paired the print with the audio version of this book and was absolutely swept away to the Indiana summer of 1979. The narration by Renee Dorian @reneedorian was fabulous. She voiced each unique character with its own distinct voice, and the performance was impeccable.
🌿Read if you like:
✨Multigenerational family drama
✨Historical fiction
✨Coming of age
✨Summer break tales
✨1970s nostalgia
✨Indiana settings
August 16, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The writing style is phenomenal and I liked the story of three generations of women who struggle with life's obstacles and prejudices.. The story is very realistic and emotional and you can empathize with the characters.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would like to say thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it.
The writing style is phenomenal and I liked the story of three generations of women who struggle with life's obstacles and prejudices.. The story is very realistic and emotional and you can empathize with the characters.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would like to say thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it.
March 18, 2025
By the summer of 1979, 15-year-old Aurora has moved 18 times with her mom, Laine, around the state of Indiana. When Aurora's step grandfather dies, she and Laine go back to Laine's hometown of Monroe for the funeral and decide to stay for a while with Aurora's Gran. But for how long? When Laine starts dating a married man, life gets complicated again and Aurora wonders where they'll end up next. But she's finding reasons why she'd like to stay.
After having read a lot of dark and heavy books lately, I really enjoyed this one even though it wasn't exactly a fairy tale either. I'm not a big reader of contemporary type fiction anymore, but this one felt like an escape. I enjoyed the writing, and I fell in love with Aurora and Gran. The small-town elements of the setting felt very realistic, both suffocating and comforting at the same time. Supporting characters like Charlotte and Harry absolutely leaped not exactly off the page but...into my ears?
I'm knocking half a star off my rating, only because Laine's selfishness pissed me off through most of the book.
The narrator was a perfect choice for a story told by a teenage character. Very earnest and hopeful vibes in her tone.
4.5 stars.
I received an audio ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
After having read a lot of dark and heavy books lately, I really enjoyed this one even though it wasn't exactly a fairy tale either. I'm not a big reader of contemporary type fiction anymore, but this one felt like an escape. I enjoyed the writing, and I fell in love with Aurora and Gran. The small-town elements of the setting felt very realistic, both suffocating and comforting at the same time. Supporting characters like Charlotte and Harry absolutely leaped not exactly off the page but...into my ears?
I'm knocking half a star off my rating, only because Laine's selfishness pissed me off through most of the book.
The narrator was a perfect choice for a story told by a teenage character. Very earnest and hopeful vibes in her tone.
4.5 stars.
I received an audio ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 24, 2025
The End of August is a perfect summer coming of age tale. Fifteen year old Aurora and her unreliable mother, Laine, return to her mother’s hometown after the death of Auroras grandfather. When Laine starts dating the neighborhood mailman Tim, Aurora knows it won’t end well. Even worse, he’s married and his daughter is Auroras classmate. While Laine dreams of Tim leaving his family for her, Aurora sets her sights on not letting her mother ruin the feeling of “home” she has found living with her grandmother. When Aurora finds teenage love with Harry, she knows she wants to stay put and make a life for herself. I love This story and the strength Aurora showed while not having a reliable parent to lean on. I also loved that Harry was genuine and it depicted a truthful teenage relationship. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review .
May 17, 2025
Loved this book.
August 3, 2024
5 ⭐
This was really good. A very character driven story that captures the feelings of growing up and making difficult choices and explores the themes of love, friendship, rights, and wrongs.
The characters, their feelings, their habits and their choices are all well written.
Given that the story is set in a small town in Indiana over a time period of 3 months and still doesn't feel boring is exceptional.
Highly recommended. 👍
This was really good. A very character driven story that captures the feelings of growing up and making difficult choices and explores the themes of love, friendship, rights, and wrongs.
The characters, their feelings, their habits and their choices are all well written.
Given that the story is set in a small town in Indiana over a time period of 3 months and still doesn't feel boring is exceptional.
Highly recommended. 👍
August 11, 2025
Wow, wow, wow!!!! An absolutely stunning debut novel. I put off reading this for a while honestly because I knew how important it was. My dear friend (and boss) had confided in me about her aspirations to write a young adult novel from the early days I knew her. So to hold something in my hand that I knew took so many years of ideas and care and effort, and then be tasked with seeing it through my own lens and brining it into my world, felt big. But oh, how full I feel!
For the Gilmore Girl lovers of the world (myself included), this is everything that show is, wrapped up in a perfect little book, in an even more raw, heartfelt way. Aurora is someone you want to root for from the very beginning, and a girl I see a lot of myself in. I definitely learned a thing or two from her. And although Paige would roll her eyes at me for saying this, it really is the physical embodiment of August by Taylor Swift. How lucky we are to live for the hope of it all. That is the very heart of this book. Hope for something you know you'll never have, hope that maybe this time it'll be different, and then, all at once, hoping for it to stay the same.
I'm simply in awe of the writing, the characters, and the heart that beats through the entire work. I feel like I really came to know these people and I'll miss stopping in to visit the little blue house, Paradise Bowl, and of course, the community pool. Growing up in a small town myself, I could see it so clearly. So much so that I even caught myself at my own neighborhood pool, trying to stay cool in the hot July days, just as Aurora and Charlotte were taking a dip. I already feel like I need to go through this again and annotate it for all of the lines that I really felt right down to my bones. It's a pretty cool experience to be so wrapped up in a story and the flow of it all and then suddenly realize, wait, I have the pleasure and the joy of knowing the real life of the person who had these thoughts and ideas and feelings and gave them to me in this grandiose, remarkable way. On a day that I felt a bit frustrated, feeling the weight of the world as any girl does, I turned on the audiobook and walked through the woods. I sat right down on a rock in the creek and watched the water run by and the sun sparkle through the trees the way it can only do in the late summer afternoon, and I listened to the story of a girl who too felt the weight of (a very small) world. The more I walked and listened the better I felt; "I tilted my face toward the sun and hoped it could heal me." I think I felt most like Aurora in those moments, or maybe more so that she was walking right there beside me. That feeling, the peace, the healing, and the familiarity, is perhaps what I'll carry with me most of all.
And, because I'm me, of course I cried through the acknowledgments. It's a bit overwhelming to see your impact right there on the page.
For the Gilmore Girl lovers of the world (myself included), this is everything that show is, wrapped up in a perfect little book, in an even more raw, heartfelt way. Aurora is someone you want to root for from the very beginning, and a girl I see a lot of myself in. I definitely learned a thing or two from her. And although Paige would roll her eyes at me for saying this, it really is the physical embodiment of August by Taylor Swift. How lucky we are to live for the hope of it all. That is the very heart of this book. Hope for something you know you'll never have, hope that maybe this time it'll be different, and then, all at once, hoping for it to stay the same.
I'm simply in awe of the writing, the characters, and the heart that beats through the entire work. I feel like I really came to know these people and I'll miss stopping in to visit the little blue house, Paradise Bowl, and of course, the community pool. Growing up in a small town myself, I could see it so clearly. So much so that I even caught myself at my own neighborhood pool, trying to stay cool in the hot July days, just as Aurora and Charlotte were taking a dip. I already feel like I need to go through this again and annotate it for all of the lines that I really felt right down to my bones. It's a pretty cool experience to be so wrapped up in a story and the flow of it all and then suddenly realize, wait, I have the pleasure and the joy of knowing the real life of the person who had these thoughts and ideas and feelings and gave them to me in this grandiose, remarkable way. On a day that I felt a bit frustrated, feeling the weight of the world as any girl does, I turned on the audiobook and walked through the woods. I sat right down on a rock in the creek and watched the water run by and the sun sparkle through the trees the way it can only do in the late summer afternoon, and I listened to the story of a girl who too felt the weight of (a very small) world. The more I walked and listened the better I felt; "I tilted my face toward the sun and hoped it could heal me." I think I felt most like Aurora in those moments, or maybe more so that she was walking right there beside me. That feeling, the peace, the healing, and the familiarity, is perhaps what I'll carry with me most of all.
And, because I'm me, of course I cried through the acknowledgments. It's a bit overwhelming to see your impact right there on the page.
February 28, 2025
I couldn’t put this book down. Harry was my favorite. I was worried he wouldn’t be true to himself in the end. I was so glad he was. Aurora needed that. Great book!
February 26, 2025
I loved this story so much and will be thinking about it for a While. The complexity of broken relationships around us and what it’s like to be caught in the crosshairs. How to navigate the messy when it’s not your own mess but sort of becomes your mess?
October 28, 2024
End of August by Paige Dinneny
This was an awesome book!
Aurora Taylor’s mother runs at the sight of trouble, usually of her own making, She’s been on the run for Aurora’s entire life, skipping out on dead end jobs and dead beat boyfriends, never looking back. At 15, Aurora has adapted to traveling light with most of her life fitting into a cardboard moving box.
Laine shows up one day after school with everything packed, not on the run but to say goodbye to Aurora’s grandpa, Jay, who had just passed.
Monroe, Indiana, a small town, even smaller when Laine and her mother, Katherine, are together. They are like oil and water, only erupting in explosions of emotion most of the time they are together.
This time is different, this time Aurora blooms and becomes more than just “Laine’s kid.” Aurora finds hope, home, and family, things she has never had. She loves the small town her mother has spent a lifetime running from. Laine clings to a toxic relationship, risking everything. Aurora dreads the next take off and run. This time everything is on the line, the town, Gran’s hope, Aurora’s future, and Laine has a choice for redemption.
I loved this story! I was captivated by the characters. The story was so real and raw with emotion. Paige Dinneny did a phenomenal job with capturing the multigenerational relationships and the raw feelings of a fifteen year old and her grandma. I give it 4.5/5⭐️
I would like to thank NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to review this ARC. This novel will be released February 11, 2025.
This was an awesome book!
Aurora Taylor’s mother runs at the sight of trouble, usually of her own making, She’s been on the run for Aurora’s entire life, skipping out on dead end jobs and dead beat boyfriends, never looking back. At 15, Aurora has adapted to traveling light with most of her life fitting into a cardboard moving box.
Laine shows up one day after school with everything packed, not on the run but to say goodbye to Aurora’s grandpa, Jay, who had just passed.
Monroe, Indiana, a small town, even smaller when Laine and her mother, Katherine, are together. They are like oil and water, only erupting in explosions of emotion most of the time they are together.
This time is different, this time Aurora blooms and becomes more than just “Laine’s kid.” Aurora finds hope, home, and family, things she has never had. She loves the small town her mother has spent a lifetime running from. Laine clings to a toxic relationship, risking everything. Aurora dreads the next take off and run. This time everything is on the line, the town, Gran’s hope, Aurora’s future, and Laine has a choice for redemption.
I loved this story! I was captivated by the characters. The story was so real and raw with emotion. Paige Dinneny did a phenomenal job with capturing the multigenerational relationships and the raw feelings of a fifteen year old and her grandma. I give it 4.5/5⭐️
I would like to thank NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to review this ARC. This novel will be released February 11, 2025.
November 8, 2024
This is a multi faceted story. Firstly, it's about Aurora, a 15 year old girl who has moved to more towns that she can count because of her unsettled mother. But it's also about the relationships of Aurora, her mother and her grandmother living in a 3 generation home in Indiana.
Aurora is an innocent girl with a sensible and mature mind set. My heart goes out to her because all she wants is a stable home life, friends and everything else a 15 year old should have. She wants to stay in Monroe. She has a contentious relationship with her mother. Aurora is the voice of reason. Her mother is mentally absent. It is a role reversal. And, she has a sweet relationship with her grandmother, even though Gran has her own issues. Sometimes it's easier to get along with someone who is two generations away from you.
The setting plays a big part in the story. Monroe, Indiana is a small town, population 545 when I Googled. It has all the characteristics of a small town. Neighbours care for each other but everyone knows everyone's business. Not always a good thing. But, it adds interest.
The story is a bit of a slow burn. While it was well written, I felt that the story dragged a bit at times. But it all leads up to a very dramatic ending.
Things worked out the way Aurora thought they might. She looks forward to her future with acceptance and hope.
My rating is 3.5 stars, upgraded to 4 stars.
And, totally irrelevant, I love the cover of the book!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy
Aurora is an innocent girl with a sensible and mature mind set. My heart goes out to her because all she wants is a stable home life, friends and everything else a 15 year old should have. She wants to stay in Monroe. She has a contentious relationship with her mother. Aurora is the voice of reason. Her mother is mentally absent. It is a role reversal. And, she has a sweet relationship with her grandmother, even though Gran has her own issues. Sometimes it's easier to get along with someone who is two generations away from you.
The setting plays a big part in the story. Monroe, Indiana is a small town, population 545 when I Googled. It has all the characteristics of a small town. Neighbours care for each other but everyone knows everyone's business. Not always a good thing. But, it adds interest.
The story is a bit of a slow burn. While it was well written, I felt that the story dragged a bit at times. But it all leads up to a very dramatic ending.
Things worked out the way Aurora thought they might. She looks forward to her future with acceptance and hope.
My rating is 3.5 stars, upgraded to 4 stars.
And, totally irrelevant, I love the cover of the book!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy
April 13, 2025
https://wendyreadit.wordpress.com/202...
I'm sure this happens to everyone, while waiting for the audiobook you want to read, you find a 'meanwhile' book to listen to, this was that book for me, this time. It's an interesting enough story about a fifteen year old girl with not the best mom and family life. When mom is out of luck and moves back home to live with her mother, that also means Aurora, her daughter, is now living with her grandmother. Life happens, bonds form, friendships are made, first boyfriend, you know the drill. This is a nicely told story of dealing with issues forced upon you and how you react to them. It's a well narrated young adult story that flows well.
I'm sure this happens to everyone, while waiting for the audiobook you want to read, you find a 'meanwhile' book to listen to, this was that book for me, this time. It's an interesting enough story about a fifteen year old girl with not the best mom and family life. When mom is out of luck and moves back home to live with her mother, that also means Aurora, her daughter, is now living with her grandmother. Life happens, bonds form, friendships are made, first boyfriend, you know the drill. This is a nicely told story of dealing with issues forced upon you and how you react to them. It's a well narrated young adult story that flows well.
December 23, 2024
ARC review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What a beautiful debut novel! I was sucked in so quick by the author’s beautiful story telling. This story follows the lives of Aurora, her gran, and mom and their soap opera, tv dinners, and non-conventional lifestyle in a small town in Indiana. There’s friendship, young love, found family, scandal, a beautiful grandma/granddaughter relationship, and emotion!
I don’t read a lot of contemporary fiction, but I will 100% read anything the author puts out in the future!
What a beautiful debut novel! I was sucked in so quick by the author’s beautiful story telling. This story follows the lives of Aurora, her gran, and mom and their soap opera, tv dinners, and non-conventional lifestyle in a small town in Indiana. There’s friendship, young love, found family, scandal, a beautiful grandma/granddaughter relationship, and emotion!
I don’t read a lot of contemporary fiction, but I will 100% read anything the author puts out in the future!
February 26, 2025
Title:
End of August
Author: Paige Dinneny
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: February 11, 2025
I received complimentary eARC and ALCs from Alcove Press and Dreamscape Media via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted
T H R E E • W O R D S
Nostalgic • Layered • Complex
📖 S Y N O P S I S
1979. Fifteen-year-old Aurora Taylor’s single mother prefers to leave when things get hard. She’s spent years abandoning bad boyfriends and dead-end jobs, without so much as a glance in the rearview mirror. After fifteen years in the passenger seat, Aurora needs more than two hands to count the towns she’s lived in. She’s learned to live small—it’s easier to leave when you don’t need to say goodbye. So when her mother Laine shows up at school with the car loaded, Aurora assumes her latest fling has run its course. Instead, it’s her grandpa Jay’s death calling them back to the town Laine has spent fifteen years running from.
Every visit to Monroe, Indiana ends in an explosive fight. Her mother and her Gran are oil and water, and it doesn’t take Aurora long to realize Gran has fallen off the wagon—again. With Gran drinking, and Laine’s discomfort in the little blue house, Aurora gives their visit a week, tops. But when Laine begins an affair with the town’s married mailman, everything changes. While her mom falls in love with a man she can’t have, Aurora has time to fall in love with the town. Her life begins to feel full—she has a friend to call her own, a gran who loves her, and a picture-perfect pastor’s son who sees Aurora as more than “Laine’s daughter.” It’s everything she never let herself dream about.
As the summer months march on, and her mom’s happiness becomes even more dependent on her unstable new relationship, Aurora worries the dream she allowed herself will end in heartbreak. This isn’t just another map dot on their endless journey, and Laine won’t just burn a bridge this time. Her choices threaten to light the town on fire, burning Gran’s hope, Aurora’s future, and her own chance at redemption to the ground with it.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The synopsis for End of August caught my attention, so I was grateful for the opportunity to receive a copy ahead of publication. It took me a bit longer than I expected to get to, but there are so many books and only so much time. The fact this is a debut novel was another bonus, as discovering and supporting new authors if something I strive for.
Set in 1979 in the small town of Monroe, Indiana, the narrative follows the complex dynamics of three generations of female characters. There is Aurora, the 15-year-old daughter; her nomadic mother, Laine; and Gran, who is grieving the death of her partner and struggling with alcoholism. The characterization is fantastic. The intricacies of weaving together the complexities of each relationship between mother/daughter is well plotted and Aurora's self-discovery thread is laced in nicely.
Dinneny does a wonderful good job capturing the realities of small town life and the essence of the time period. I have heard stories of my own mother sitting with her grandmother to watch the soaps, so that aspect felt so wholesome. I also appreciated the sobriety storyline, there appears to be a trend in this trope of late.
The audiobook narrated by Renee Dorian kept me engaged and interested. She was able to capture the emotion and voice across each of the characters. The pacing and clarity of her voice made for an enjoyable listening experience.
End of August is one of those quiet, slow paced novels where the characters wiggle their way into your mind. Part coming-of-age story, part family drama, it is the relationships which really make the story. The writing could have used some additional fine tuning, it remains a solid debut from Paige Dinneny and I will look forward to reading more from her down the road.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• Ask Again, Yes
• multigenerational stories
• complex family dynamics
⚠️ CW: toxic relationship, domestic abuse, child abuse, abandonment, death, grief, alcohol, alcoholism, mental illness, infidelity, sexual content
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"The sadness she carried with her was hers and hers alone."
"Not that you can plan for death, really, but this was her life taking a hard right when she was hell-bent on it going straight."
Author: Paige Dinneny
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: February 11, 2025
I received complimentary eARC and ALCs from Alcove Press and Dreamscape Media via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted
T H R E E • W O R D S
Nostalgic • Layered • Complex
📖 S Y N O P S I S
1979. Fifteen-year-old Aurora Taylor’s single mother prefers to leave when things get hard. She’s spent years abandoning bad boyfriends and dead-end jobs, without so much as a glance in the rearview mirror. After fifteen years in the passenger seat, Aurora needs more than two hands to count the towns she’s lived in. She’s learned to live small—it’s easier to leave when you don’t need to say goodbye. So when her mother Laine shows up at school with the car loaded, Aurora assumes her latest fling has run its course. Instead, it’s her grandpa Jay’s death calling them back to the town Laine has spent fifteen years running from.
Every visit to Monroe, Indiana ends in an explosive fight. Her mother and her Gran are oil and water, and it doesn’t take Aurora long to realize Gran has fallen off the wagon—again. With Gran drinking, and Laine’s discomfort in the little blue house, Aurora gives their visit a week, tops. But when Laine begins an affair with the town’s married mailman, everything changes. While her mom falls in love with a man she can’t have, Aurora has time to fall in love with the town. Her life begins to feel full—she has a friend to call her own, a gran who loves her, and a picture-perfect pastor’s son who sees Aurora as more than “Laine’s daughter.” It’s everything she never let herself dream about.
As the summer months march on, and her mom’s happiness becomes even more dependent on her unstable new relationship, Aurora worries the dream she allowed herself will end in heartbreak. This isn’t just another map dot on their endless journey, and Laine won’t just burn a bridge this time. Her choices threaten to light the town on fire, burning Gran’s hope, Aurora’s future, and her own chance at redemption to the ground with it.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The synopsis for End of August caught my attention, so I was grateful for the opportunity to receive a copy ahead of publication. It took me a bit longer than I expected to get to, but there are so many books and only so much time. The fact this is a debut novel was another bonus, as discovering and supporting new authors if something I strive for.
Set in 1979 in the small town of Monroe, Indiana, the narrative follows the complex dynamics of three generations of female characters. There is Aurora, the 15-year-old daughter; her nomadic mother, Laine; and Gran, who is grieving the death of her partner and struggling with alcoholism. The characterization is fantastic. The intricacies of weaving together the complexities of each relationship between mother/daughter is well plotted and Aurora's self-discovery thread is laced in nicely.
Dinneny does a wonderful good job capturing the realities of small town life and the essence of the time period. I have heard stories of my own mother sitting with her grandmother to watch the soaps, so that aspect felt so wholesome. I also appreciated the sobriety storyline, there appears to be a trend in this trope of late.
The audiobook narrated by Renee Dorian kept me engaged and interested. She was able to capture the emotion and voice across each of the characters. The pacing and clarity of her voice made for an enjoyable listening experience.
End of August is one of those quiet, slow paced novels where the characters wiggle their way into your mind. Part coming-of-age story, part family drama, it is the relationships which really make the story. The writing could have used some additional fine tuning, it remains a solid debut from Paige Dinneny and I will look forward to reading more from her down the road.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• Ask Again, Yes
• multigenerational stories
• complex family dynamics
⚠️ CW: toxic relationship, domestic abuse, child abuse, abandonment, death, grief, alcohol, alcoholism, mental illness, infidelity, sexual content
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"The sadness she carried with her was hers and hers alone."
"Not that you can plan for death, really, but this was her life taking a hard right when she was hell-bent on it going straight."
August 1, 2024
“I think she’d do anything to keep me in the passenger seat, and sometimes I want to be there.” End of August is a languid but enjoyable book that settles over you like the cloying heat of an Indiana summer. It tells the story of three generations of women—Aurora, Laine and Katherine—in a small town called Monroe. The trio are reunited due to the death of Jay, Katherine’s partner.
Fifteen year old Aurora, on the cusp of awareness, starts to see how different her family is from other small town exemplars: “There was a time when everything she did seemed so glamorous. By fifteen, some of the charm had worn off.” The book gently explores Katherine’s alcoholism and its role in Laine’s nomadic life through the kindhearted eyes of Aurora: “I’d never thought of my life as ‘messed up’. I’d just thought of it as my life. One dictated by the whims of a mother who preferred to leave when things got hard.”
As Aurora starts to catalogue the things she’s missed out on by moving on so often—riding a bike, learning to cook a meal, dating—and Laine starts sleeping with the married postman, tensions begin to simmer between the three women. However amongst all the problems there’s love, so Aurora has a hard choice to make when the road “with Mom and the men she’d pick up along the way seemed impossibly long.” There’s also acknowledgment in the book of the gendered disparity of consequences for bad actions, most often being borne by women: “Our world is easier on men.”
With thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for sending me a copy to read.
Fifteen year old Aurora, on the cusp of awareness, starts to see how different her family is from other small town exemplars: “There was a time when everything she did seemed so glamorous. By fifteen, some of the charm had worn off.” The book gently explores Katherine’s alcoholism and its role in Laine’s nomadic life through the kindhearted eyes of Aurora: “I’d never thought of my life as ‘messed up’. I’d just thought of it as my life. One dictated by the whims of a mother who preferred to leave when things got hard.”
As Aurora starts to catalogue the things she’s missed out on by moving on so often—riding a bike, learning to cook a meal, dating—and Laine starts sleeping with the married postman, tensions begin to simmer between the three women. However amongst all the problems there’s love, so Aurora has a hard choice to make when the road “with Mom and the men she’d pick up along the way seemed impossibly long.” There’s also acknowledgment in the book of the gendered disparity of consequences for bad actions, most often being borne by women: “Our world is easier on men.”
With thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for sending me a copy to read.
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