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    Labor Day
    Labor Day
    Labor Day
    Audiobook6 hours

    Labor Day

    Written by Joyce Maynard

    Narrated by Wilson Bethel

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    “Joyce Maynard is in top-notch form with Labor Day. Simply a novel you cannot miss.”

    —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of My Sister’s Keeper and Keeping Faith

    “Maynard has created an ensemble of characters that will sneak into your heart, and warm it while it breaks.”

    —St. Petersburg Times

    Joyce Maynard, acclaimed author of At Home in the World, is back with Labor Day. The  unforgettable story of a mother and son forever changed during a long summer weekend when a mysterious man comes into their lives. Labor Day is “a sexy, page turning, poignant story” (Jane Hamilton, author of A Map of the World) that “affirms Maynard’s reputation as a master storyteller and shows her to be a passionate humanist with a gifted ear and heart” (People)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJul 28, 2009
    ISBN9780061956409
    Labor Day
    Author

    Joyce Maynard

    Joyce Maynard is the author of twelve previous novels and five books of nonfiction, as well as the syndicated column, “Domestic Affairs.” Her bestselling memoir, At Home in the World, has been translated into sixteen languages. Her novels To Die For and Labor Day were both adapted for film. Maynard divides her time between homes in California, New Hampshire, and Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

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    Reviews for Labor Day

    4/5

    560 ratings87 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a wonderful story, an absolute pleasure to read. The character development is great and the narrator is excellent. However, some readers have issues with the plot, characters, and portrayal of romance. They find the plot confusing and the characters' actions irrational. The romance is seen as creepy and the sex references are excessive. Despite these criticisms, the book captures attention and heart from beginning to end.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Great book, a classic, worth the read. Great characters. You will tell others about this story
    • 5/5
      Well written. Captured my attention and heart from the beginning too the end.
    • 4/5
      Henry and his mother Adele were a family of two after the divorce. They kept to themselves until one hot Labor Day week end when their lives changed forever. Henry was only 13 at the time, but he did a lot of growing up in that short time.This is one of those books that you can breeze through in a few short hours. But just as a 3-day week end can be rejuvenating, so can spending time with Henry, Adele, and their new friend.
    • 5/5
      What a wonderful story. An absolute pleasure to to read.
    • 5/5
      I continue to be amazed how Maynard can make her novels light, easy to read with a "beach read" feel and yet, when you read the final page, you realize how many complex layers have been captured and that it is a much deeper novel than it felt like the whole time you were reading it. Exquisitely wonderful.
    • 4/5
      Stayed up late on Labor Day to finish Labor Day!

      Surprisingly, the movie was fairly close to the book; I kept hoping the book ended differently than the movie did. I want to know more about Adele & Frank, wish there was a follow-up novel.
    • 4/5
      13 year old Henry lives with his divorced mother Adele in New Hampshire at the end of summer, just before Labor Day. Adele doesn't leave the house much after the divorce and neither does Henry. Henry and Adele are at Pricemart when Frank, bleeding and limping, asks for Henry's help. Frank comes back to their house. From here, Henry tells the story of the Labor Day weekend with Adele and Frank. I thought the author did a pretty good job of portraying the socially awkward 13 year old Henry. It was a sweet little story about love and family, even if it was a bit predictable. I would read more from this author. I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator Wilson Bethel did a fantastic job as Frank--that is exactly how I imagined his voice to be.
    • 4/5
      Labor Day by Joyce Maynard; (4*)I found Labor Day to be a very well written book. It illustrated the danger of writing people off because of past mistakes or because they have been put into a particular box. I thought the author did a great job of presenting this complex situation to us through the eyes of a youthful boy named Henry. Henry has both misgivings and love for his mother which color his response to this unknown man's entrance into their lives. It is a heart rendering story about family dynamics. A boy's coming of age, a mother's depression, a stepfamily and a convict. They are all thrown together, making for a touching read. I was captivated from the start.
    • 1/5
      I have so many issues with this novel. With the plot. With the characters. With the "romance"...
      The plot makes no sense and the characters actions are irrational, at best. It's kind of creepy how the "romance" is portrayed. Saying is fated, all that matters, etc. If that's a romance/true love, I'm out of here.
      Besides that, our narrator is Henry, a 13-yr-old. But most of the times he didn't "talk" like one. And I understand he is a pre-adolescent and starting to develop and discovering sex and all that. But the sex references were everywhere; non-stop.
      As a whole, the plot and its message didn't make any sense. And to be perfectly honest I was bored out of my mind. And at the end I was listening at speed 1.5x.
    • 3/5
      I saw the movie, then just had to read the book. Recommend reading the book before seeing the movie. I think this is one of those rare instances where the movie is better than the book.
    • 5/5
      Great character development. Story caught my attention from start. Narrator was excellent!
    • 3/5
      The events of Labor Day weekend change the course of the lives of a 13 yr old boy and his single mother when they decide to help a man with a tragic past.
    • 4/5
      What are the odds of meeting up with an escaped convict in your local discount store? And if you did, what are the odds that he had no wish to hurt you, but just asked you and your mom to help him out by letting him lie low at your house for a few days? And if you agreed, what are the odds that he would help fix some things around the house, cook your meals, teach you how to make a pie and hit a baseball...and that he and your divorced mother would fall in love?Summed up that way, the plot of Joyce Maynard's novel Labor Day doesn't come across as very realistic to me...but a novel is more than just a plot summary, and by relating this rather unlikely tale through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Henry, Maynard makes it feel real. Even if I didn't entirely buy the situation, I was emotionally drawn into it - and I do know from experience that just a few days can change the rest of your life.Henry looks back at that Labor Day weekend in 1987 from the vantage point of adulthood, but Maynard's evocation of a thirteen-year-old boy is one element of the novel that really rang true to me. He knows where he falls on the middle-school popularity ladder - at the bottom. He knows what he's good at - not very much. He's coping with his parents' divorce and his father's second family, and beginning to realize that his parents are actually people. He's noticing the changes in both his body and his mind; he's becoming a sex-obsessed teenage boy, and that begins to factor into his changing view of his parents too, especially once Frank comes into his and his mother's home. Because the story is told through Henry's first-person narration, we only see what develops between Frank and Adele as Henry sees it, and we only know their perspectives through what they say to him - and yet, that's effective, and enough. We learn - and can infer - enough about these characters that their developing relationship actually does make sense...or at least enough sense that I could (mostly) suspend my disbelief about the circumstances under which it develops.Labor Day is a short novel and was a fast read for me. I was eager to see where Maynard took these characters, and I'm glad I took the journey with them, even if I did have some issues with how they started off.
    • 4/5
      From My Blog...Thirteen-year-old Henry and his mother Adele meet Frank Chambers in Pricemart and bring him back to their home, beginning 6 days that change the course of several lives in the novel Labor Day by Joyce Maynard. Henry narrates the story giving the reader insights into his life prior to meeting Frank, the life changing six days of Labor Day weekend of his 13th year and then Henry jumps forward in time eventually bringing the reader to present day, two decades later with the lessons he has learned and . The characters are richly detailed from Henry’s eccentric and possibly unbalanced mother Adele, his remarried father Richard, his step-mother Marjorie, his half-sister Chloe, Eleanor, and naturally Frank. While the story line may appear far-fetched, it is after all a story and quite a loving, heart-warming and endearing one. Frank worked his way into my heart, even if he was an escaped convict. Maynard takes the reader into the life of a thirteen-year-old boy living in Holton Mills, New Hampshire and shares what has to be one of the most circumstantially bizarre yet wonderfully profound holiday weekends I have ever read about. Labor Day is a quick read filled with hope, family and love and one I enjoyed and would recommend to others looking for a light yet beautiful novel of how one act could impact the lives of so many people.
    • 4/5
      All of it but most of all the ending .
    • 5/5
      Book Description:
      As the end of summer approaches and a long, hot Labor Day weekend looms, the life of lonely thirteen-year-old Henry Wheeler is irrevocably changed when he and his emotionally fragile mother show kindness to a stranger with a terrible secret. Now a major motion picture starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, Labor Day is a poignant story of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery.

      Labor Day is a very touching and page turning story with very unforgettable characters. Never read Joyce Maynard before but I will be seeking out some of her other novels!
    • 5/5
      A beautifully written book about a shattered woman, her young son and the love that finds them.
    • 5/5
      This was a great read. An escaped convict (Frank) convinces a young boy (Henry) and his mother (Adele) to shelter him over the Labour Day weekend. Frank and Adele fall in love while the search for Frank is ongoing. Henry is torn between his liking of Frank and his fear that he will be displaced by him. In tone and atmosphere, this book reminded me of The Bridges of Madison County.

      This book is well written, great characters....I'll be looking for more by this author.
    • 2/5
      Mystery re: escaped convict and the days around Labor Day weekend. Interesting characters - told from viewpoint of 13-yr old boy
    • 4/5
      Captivating and demanding on your time. I really love these types of novels which manage to grab you and pull you straight in between the covers and become almost your reality. Definitely well worth a read.
    • 3/5
      Despite the improbable start to the story, the personalities soon take over and make it a straight through reading.

      It would have been near-perfect, except for all the repetitions about Adele's behavior, if the author had resolved

      Frank's capture some other way than Henry setting up a predictable betrayal. Even Barry would have worked better.

      The postcard ending doesn't make up for the stupidity.
    • 3/5
      This is my first Joyce Maynard book. The synopsis sounded intriguing. The story of Adele is a sad one, indeed. But Frank's presence seems to bring some life back to her. She needed love and affection. She needed positive attention. Thirteen-year-old Henry has been the "man" of the house for so long, yet he can't make his mother happy. Not in the way that Frank can.

      Frank isn't really as awful as the media portrays him to be. He's a human being with flaws and still possesses some good qualities.

      The story is sad while still clinging to hope and love. It is generously insightful, sharing the why's of Adele's unhappiness and depression. While Joyce is a fair storyteller, this book is not one that I would re-read.
    • 5/5
      DESCRIPTION, NOT REVIEW: Joyce Maynard, acclaimed author of At Home in the World, is back with Labor Day. The  unforgettable story of a mother and son forever changed during a long summer weekend when a mysterious man comes into their lives. Labor Day is “a sexy, page turning, poignant story” (Jane Hamilton, author of A Map of the World) that “affirms Maynard’s reputation as a master storyteller and shows her to be a passionate humanist with a gifted ear and heart” (People)
    • 5/5
      Labor Day by Joyce Maynard is a coming-of-age book about a young man’s 13th year, in particular, the events that occurred over the Labor Day weekend. Henry lives with his mother who isn’t coping well with her life. She rarely goes out at all but this day Henry needed new clothes for school which was starting after the long weekend. While in the store Henry is approached by a man who obviously needs some help. He is limping and bleeding, and Henry and his mother take him home.

      Frank is an escaped convict, but doesn’t seem threatening in any way, in fact, Frank and Henry’s mother, Adele, hit it off right away. Frank does tell them who he is but they are enjoying themselves and allow the situation to get even more intimate. When Frank and Adele start talking about running away to Canada, Henry believes they are going to leave him behind. He does see his father, but isn’t all that keen to live with his father’s new family or his step-mother. He becomes angry and confesses the situation to a friend. He then finds out that Frank and Adele have no intention of leaving him behind. They pack up and are about to leave when the police arrive and arrest Frank. The friend that Henry told went to the police for the $10,000 reward.

      The book is written from the point of view of a thirty year old Henry who brings us up to date with what eventually happens to Frank, Adele, Henry and the rest of the family. I admit that at first I was not fond of fragile Adele and how passive she was but as the author slowly reveals more and more about her character, I began to root for her. I started this book thinking it would be an average read, but the author developed her characters into fully rounded people and presented a story that was both insightful and so richly shaded that I knew this was much more than an average book.
    • 5/5
      In the beginning I wasn't sure if I was going to like this one or not, but after only a couple chapters in, I was hooked. Labor Day by Joyce Maynard is a book that I couldn't wait to pick up before I went to bed to see what was happening next. It was not only a poignant coming-of-age story of a young boy, it also portrayed his mother who was struggling with her own demons as well. I found myself wanting to hug this boy and it really made me think about how sometimes the things we think we know about a person can be totally off. It is a story about love and the strange ways it can be found.
      I love the way the book ended as well. Instead of being tragic like I actually expected, it instead made me feel good and showed that sometimes good things come out of bad situations. It shows the power of love as well as the power of forgiveness. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a book that makes you smile as you close the back cover.
    • 3/5
      This story is told through the eyes of 13-year-old Henry about his hermit mom Adele and escaped convict Frank. This is a sad story and also a love story. Frank spends 6 days with Henry and Adele and changes their lives forever. This was a quick read, barely over 200 pages. I liked Frank and Adele together yet she and Henry were making me mad that they didn't turn Frank in. This book has a sweet ending and I did enjoy learning about the different characters.
    • 4/5
      This one was on my books to read before movie comes out list.

      "But there was something about the way Frank fed my mother that made the whole thing almost beautiful, like he was a jeweler or a scientist, or one of those old Japanese men who work all day on a single bonsai." What a great image! The story takes place over 6 days then jumps ahead in the last few pages 18 years later.

      Hope the movie does not ruin what the author has created. I will say from the previews I like the casting with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin (sp)

    • 3/5
      This was a gentle love story narrated by Adele's thirteen-year-old son who observes the budding romance between his fragile mother and an escaped convict over a Labor Day weekend. The thing I found most frustrating was the lack of quotation marks which made the book hard to follow at times, but I did like Henry's voice.
    • 3/5
      3.5 out of 5. Considering the sheer pleasure I got while reading this book - not pleasure in a HAPPY! way but pleasure in a "this read well and quickly and ticked the boxes it was meant to tick" way - I could've nudged this up to a 4. But let's be honest: I will, more likely than not, forget most of this within a few weeks (possibly longer, as movie-going is in my future), hopefully excepting the pie tips. This is housewife-book-club material and a damn fine example of it. Maynard's writing flows like a kitchen faucet, smooth and clear and sometimes oddly beautiful - all the while evoking those simpler summer days of childhood while attempting to capture the awkwardness we'd rather forget. You know, based on one look at the synopsis, whether or not you'll like this book. If you're the kind of person who will, then by all means enjoy - you could do a lot worse.
    • 4/5
      When a man shows up that makes your sad mother smile, who treats you with affection and respect, and who can cook, it's hard to care that he's an escapee convicted of murder. Isn't it? Told from the viewpoint of thirteen-year-old Henry, the story explores the answering of loneliness, the fear of change, and regret. Enjoyed very much.