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Learn moreWhat if you closed your eyes, blew out the candles, and your wish came true?
Ellie Jerome is a young-at-heart seventy-five-year-old who feels she has more in common with her twenty-nine-year-old granddaughter, Lucy, than her fifty-five-year-old daughter, Barbara. Ellie's done everything she can to stay young, and the last thing she wants is to celebrate another birthday. So when she finds herself confronted with a cake full of candles, Ellie wishes more than anything that she could be twenty-nine again, just for one day. But who expects a wish like that to come true?
29 is the story of three generations of women and how one magical day shakes up everything they know about each other. While Ellie finds that the life of a twentysomething is not as carefree as she expected, the sheer joy of being young again prompts her to consider living her life all over. Does she dare stay young for more than this day, even if it means leaving everyone she loves behind?
Fresh, funny, and delightful, 29 is an enchanting adventure about families, love, and the real lessons of youth.
Adena Halpern is the author of several novels, as well as the memoir Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown: Notes from a Single Girl’s Closet, which was based on her popular “Haute Life” essays for the back page of Marie Claire magazine. In addition to Marie Claire, Halpern has written for Daily Variety and the New York Times. She has a BA in dramatic writing from New York University and an MFA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute. A proud Philadelphia native, she resides in Los Angeles with her husband, television and screenwriter Jonathan Goldstein.
Lorna Raver, named one of AudioFile magazine’s Best Voices of the Year, has received numerous Audie nominations and AudioFile Earphones Awards. An experienced stage actress, she has also guest-starred on many top television series and starred in director Sam Raimi’s film Drag Me to Hell. Among her many Blackstone titles are The Age of Innocence, Up from Orchard Street, The Lodger, Selected Readings from the Portable Dorothy Parker, and Diamond Ruby.
Reviews
“Take an ingenious idea for a plot, combine it with likable characters and genuine heart, and you’ve got 29, a novel about a woman who is full of regrets—until she makes a wish that changes her life and the lives of those she loves. A skillfully told story that will appeal to twenty-nine-year-olds of all ages.”
“The proverbial search for youth’s fountain manifests itself in Ellie Jerome, a seventy-five-year-old woman who has employed every available artifice to remain young. Identifying more with her stylish young granddaughter, Lucy, than with her abrasive middle-aged daughter, Barbara, Ellie’s seventy-fifth birthday wish is to be twenty-nine again, for just one day…With this rollicking, if familiar, offering, Halpern (whose earlier novel, The Ten Best Days of My Life, is being adapted into a film) sets out to prove that you’re only young twice.”
“Halpern buoyantly tells the story of three generations of women and how one ‘freaky’ day changes their relationships and helps Ellie decide between the thrill of being young again and the life she would be leaving behind.”
“A joyful fairy tale that will sweep you up and captivate you from start to finish. Sweet, funny, and tender.”
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