March 2023

PINEAPPLE STREET arrived just when I needed what I call an “escape book.” I had heard Jenny Jackson talk about this one at a publisher preview, and I knew her name as she edits a wide range of bestselling authors: Emily St. John Mandel, Kevin Kwan, Erin Morgenstern, Lauren Fox, J. Courtney Sullivan, Chris Bohjalian and Gabrielle Zevin, to name a few. So she knows her way around publishing, but this time she delivers from the other side of the desk.

The book is set in Brooklyn Heights in a tony section where the streets are named Pineapple, Orange and Cranberry. This is a neighborhood fact that I never knew --- fruit streets in Brooklyn. The Stockton family is old-money and super connected. The matriarch and patriarch spend time rushing from one event to the next, including tennis, galas and benefits.

The family’s brownstone on Pineapple Street has been passed on to the oldest son, Cord, and his wife, Sasha, with all the antiques and photos of family members from decades gone by. Oh, and don’t think about moving any of it, as there are family memories attached to each one. Be so happy that you are lucky enough to live there. Oh, and Sasha, everyone thinks you are a gold digger since you did not come from this enchanted world. But you can handle that, right? Darley, the oldest daughter, gave up her finance job to parent her children and get them from one activity to the next. She wonders if that is all there is, as her husband whizzes his way around the world of airspace travel deals and feels fulfilled. The youngest daughter, Georgiana, is single, works at a non-profit and ends up dating a man who is not right for her, though he makes her happy. She is spiraling, not wanting to stay attached to the golden life trappings that she has.

In case you are wondering where the senior Stocktons have moved to, they are on Orange Street. They did not go far at all. Well, then again, they do escape to Palm Beach for the winter.

This was the perfect read for a dreary late winter weekend, but I also can see it packed in beach bags all summer. It’s what I call a “smart” beach read that luckily found its way to me in March. There is humor, real life and family drama. I am looking forward to seeing what Jenny writes next! And be sure to check out this great interview that J. Courtney Sullivan conducted with Jenny at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn.