The Jetsetters: A Novel

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK - Named One of the Best Beach Reads of the Year by Parade, O: The Oprah Magazine, and Good Housekeeping
"The exuberant activity aboard the Splendido Marveloso is no match for the fireworks set off as the lies explode. Full of wicked humor and delicious destination details."--People (Book of the Week)
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ESQUIRE When seventy-year-old Charlotte Perkins submits a sexy essay to the Become a Jetsetter contest, she dreams of reuniting her estranged children: Lee, an almost-famous actress; Cord, a handsome Manhattan venture capitalist who can't seem to find a partner; and Regan, a harried mother who took it all wrong when Charlotte bought her a Weight Watchers gift certificate for her birthday. Charlotte yearns for the years when her children were young, when she was a single mother who meant everything to them. When she wins the contest, the family packs their baggage--both literal and figurative--and spends ten days traveling from sun-drenched Athens through glorious Rome to tapas-laden Barcelona on an over-the-top cruise ship, the Splendido Marveloso. As lovers new and old join the adventure, long-buried secrets are revealed and old wounds are reopened, forcing the Perkins family to confront the forces that drove them apart and the defining choices of their lives. Can four lost adults find the peace they've been seeking by reconciling their childhood aches and coming back together? In the vein of The Nest and The Vacationers, The Jetsetters is a delicious and intelligent novel about the courage it takes to reveal our true selves, the pleasures and perils of family, and how we navigate the seas of adulthood.
"The exuberant activity aboard the Splendido Marveloso is no match for the fireworks set off as the lies explode. Full of wicked humor and delicious destination details."--People (Book of the Week)
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ESQUIRE When seventy-year-old Charlotte Perkins submits a sexy essay to the Become a Jetsetter contest, she dreams of reuniting her estranged children: Lee, an almost-famous actress; Cord, a handsome Manhattan venture capitalist who can't seem to find a partner; and Regan, a harried mother who took it all wrong when Charlotte bought her a Weight Watchers gift certificate for her birthday. Charlotte yearns for the years when her children were young, when she was a single mother who meant everything to them. When she wins the contest, the family packs their baggage--both literal and figurative--and spends ten days traveling from sun-drenched Athens through glorious Rome to tapas-laden Barcelona on an over-the-top cruise ship, the Splendido Marveloso. As lovers new and old join the adventure, long-buried secrets are revealed and old wounds are reopened, forcing the Perkins family to confront the forces that drove them apart and the defining choices of their lives. Can four lost adults find the peace they've been seeking by reconciling their childhood aches and coming back together? In the vein of The Nest and The Vacationers, The Jetsetters is a delicious and intelligent novel about the courage it takes to reveal our true selves, the pleasures and perils of family, and how we navigate the seas of adulthood.
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Community Reviews
I enjoyed this book so much! An intergenerational story about an older mother and her grown children, the storyline was very interconnected, funny, sad, and triumphant all at once. Great storytelling.
I started this book earlier in the year and for one reason or another list interest. I went back to it vowint to finish what I started. The book was surprising - I thought I didn't like it at first but when I came back to it, I enjoyed it very much.
We picked this book as a summer light read. It was NOT that. I was not prepared for such a depressive tone. Not a bad book, but not what we were wanting or expecting.
Since there isn't a score of 3.5, I'll round up to 4. I enjoyed this book and loved all the 'travel' and stops made by the family because I love to travel and was reminded of many of those places myself. I feel the author did a good job developing the characters and there was a clear storyline for each of the characters. The book kept my attention and the only reason I didn't rate it higher was because I didn't feel it was very unique/highly different. For me it was an entertaining read covering topics like family and social issues, some romance, and I enjoyed understanding the mother's feelings and experiences as an aging woman. If you're looking for a book that will take to places in Greece and Southern Europe all amidst a story of family and redemption, then this book would be for you.
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