Malibu Rising is a new novel from Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones & the Six. It tells the story of the Riva family. The book begins in the 1950s, when Mick, an aspiring singer, meets June, a sweet girl from a hard-working family in Malibu. They kiss, they fall in love, they marry, and they start a family.
The marriage begins as a simple love story and slowly evolves and devolves as Mick’s songs hit the charts and his fame skyrockets. Mick, who had poor parental role models himself, soon strays from his marriage and his family, leaving June with four children while he pursues his career and eventually 6 unfulfilling marriages and countless liaisons.
With Mick out of the picture, Reid deftly weaves the story of each Riva child as they grow up in their father’s shadow, nourished by their mother’s love and devotion, as working-class residents of Malibu.
Following the pitfalls that beseech the family, the siblings never lose sight of the family unit, until one night in the early 1980s, when the Riva children are all grown up, and Nina, the eldest, hosts her annual end-of-summer soiree. The second half of the book is devoted to that one night and each chapter is one hour of the party. The paths of each of the Riva children all converge, and their past, their triumphs and tribulations, go up in smoke as Nina’s Malibu house burns and they forge new paths, strong in their personal convictions with heads high and their phoenix wings ready to soar.
