Labor Day

By: Joyce Maynard

Narrated by: Wilson Bethel

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, 13-year-old Henry - lonely, friendless, not too good at sports - spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates.

For company, Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele - a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy.

Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart. But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others - especially those we love - above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.

In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's Atonement and Nick Hornby's About a Boy, acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery as seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy - and the man he later becomes - looking back at an unexpected encounter that begins one single, long, hot, life-altering weekend.

©2009 Joyce Maynard (P)1997 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Maynard's inventive coming-of-age tale indelibly captures the anxiety and confusion inherent in adolescence, while the addition of a menacing element of suspense makes this emotionally fraught journey that much more harrowing." ( Booklist)

Well told story

It was refreshing to read a story about real issues that people have and to see how each character dealt with them as best they could. Just people, doing the best they can with what they have, mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Well Done

I like to read the books before I watch the movies and this book and narrator did not disappoint.

Heart-Breaking, Bittersweet, and Very, Very Good

Labor Day is a heart-breaking coming-of-age story about love, loss, grief, injustice, betrayal, longing, loneliness, goodness, strength, resiliency, redemption, and fulfillment. Some characters seem, at first, to be less than admirable; they appear weak, mentally unstable, and lacking in good judgement and good character. But as the story unravelled, my opinion changed dramatically: I felt only heart-wrenching sympathy/empathy and admiration for these characters whom I came to view as uncommonly good, strong people. At times, their stories made me incredibly angry and sad (get ready to cry if you are sensitive), but I also found bittersweet happiness and hope in the story. Maynard's narrative is at times poetic and perfect but it is a bit flawed at other times. For example, she writes that a character kept no fresh food or real food of any kind in the house; there were only frozen dinners and cans of soup. Yet, a house-guest was able to make chili, biscuits, pie, and pancakes from scratch without ever leaving the house to go to a grocery store. Other than small narrative inconsistencies like the one just described, Labor Day is a real gem of a story; I'm so thankful that I found it and added it to my library. It was well worth the credit I spent.

Loved the movie and now the book too

I loved this book it filled in a lot of questions I had after watching the movie. The narration was good too.

Seemed like a hell of a holiday.

Where does Labor Day rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's probably up there. A bit drawn out sometimes.

What did you like best about this story?

It was entertaining. Talk of could have been toned down a little.

Have you listened to any of Wilson Bethel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No he's a unique storyteller.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really it took time to get used to it.

don't bother

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would not recommend this book. The narration was nice, but the story was shallow and predictable.

Love it

I love it. It made me feel that the story was so vivid. I would recommend this story and audible.

Spun Gold

Powerful story of a family undone by tragedy, and restored by the grace of a man who was imprisoned by the law, and redeemed by love. Told through the eyes of a perceptive and unhappy teenage boy, it’s the story of the healing power of love springing up in the least likely place - a house over one very long hot weekend. Beautifully narrated by the young boy, it captures the foolishness and beauty of a family finding peace in the ashes of sadness.
Plus a riveting treatment of the power of food (especially pie) to help healing happen.

Enjoyed it

With the voice (and the good one), feeling of the teenage boy going through was much easy even though I was never one.

The story took me from the awkward young age of mine to the happy and sad all through the years.

I enjoyed the vividness, good and bad.

Good story but anti clamatic

Would you try another book from Joyce Maynard and/or Wilson Bethel?

I've read a couple of Joyce's books. They're like a peanut butter sandwich. Tastes good when you're in between new things to try. A staple. Good writing but missing something to make it great!