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Content snapshot
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Violence
Barely any
None beyond a shove of family tension; Kirkus reports no violent content
Language
A lot
Family-argument profanity, used naturally
Sexual Content
A lot
Kirkus notes Sylvia's stated goal of losing her virginity, and infidelity is the wound the whole holiday is built around
Substance Use
Some
Continuous vacation drinking; a supporting character has money and fitness problems that hint at worse
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Kirkus frames the book around 'the marital bond and the human condition' — a career-ending affair with a much younger person, adult children in financial trouble, and a friendship being renegotiated
What this book is about
Jim and Franny bring their family to Spain for a thirty-fifth anniversary and their daughter's graduation, with Jim newly out of a job for reasons nobody wants to name. Their son brings a girlfriend nobody likes; Franny's oldest friend and his husband are deciding about adoption; Sylvia has a private summer agenda.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Infidelity, including with a younger person
A teenager's sexual coming-of-age
Heavy social drinking
Reader Verification
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