The Odd Coincidence of August 27th and Malibu Rising
Or, the time when I read Malibu Rising on the same day as the book was set
August 27th, 1983, and August 27th, 2024 —the day this book is set and the day I decided to finally sit down and read Malibu Rising—an incredible coincidence.
It is a perfect sendoff to Summer as it drifts into the next phase of the yearly cycle.
I am a big fan of everything Taylor Jenkins Reid has written. I’ve read three of her books, and I have a fourth, Carrie Soto is Back, lined up next. So far, the trend has remained consistent: once I start one of her books, I can barely put it down until it is complete. That remained true. I finished all of Malibu Rising the same day. I haven’t done something like that in a long time. The memorability factor with this book keeps rising.
As you might guess, the story is set in sunny Malibu, California—rocky bluffs, crashing waves, and exploration of its residents' lives. Perspective shifts through various members of the Riva family from the ultra-famous and wealthy presence of the 1980s to the struggling working class of the 1950s and those in between trying to survive.
The story deals with abandonment, complicated parental relationships, sibling connection and resilience, and the highs and (mostly) lows of money and fame.
A fire thirty years in the making.
“Malibu catches fire. It is simply what Malibu does from time to time… Because it is Malibu’s nature to burn.” -Taylor Jenkins Reid, Malibu Rising
Total spoilers ahead.
August 27, 1983. Malibu catches fire as it has countless times before. Tensions 30 years in the making are finally set ablaze. Inhibitions are set free as the Rivas send the summer off with an annual party. With their fame, the party is an A-list event and the talk of the town. Different familial tensions arise, such as potential long-lost siblings, divorce, betrayal, pregnancy, coming to terms with sexuality, and letting the weight of the world fall free are all defined this same day.
Nina Riva is the eldest child of Mick Riva, an Elvis-level singer. She has three other siblings: Jay, Hud, and Kit. Their mother, June, a Malibu local, met the singer on the beach in the 1950s. She comes from a lower-middle-class upbringing and a family-owned seafood restaurant on the PCH. They struggle but get by. It sounds outlandish for a family without massive wealth to live on the California coast, but this is a crucial theme—the push and pull of wealth and its consequences.
June’s parents believe the restaurant is her destiny, but she has bigger dreams…of a home with two sinks in one bathroom, sturdy hardwood floors, and a Cadillac in the driveway. This all felt out of reach until she met Mick Riva before his eventual fame.
They marry, and Nina is born soon after. June’s mother is especially wary of the charming, handsome singer and sees right through him. He is the opposite of their way of life, so June believes it is a small-minded fear. As Mick’s career rises, she is quickly left at home with two children while her husband tours- big promises made every time he leaves.
They have more money now than June has ever seen. The house of her dreams and children to which she is wholly devoted. Until the facade breaks. Despite all his charm and words of devotion, the fame and power of Mick’s rising status get into his head fast. Harmless kisses on cheeks become full-blown affairs. June lives in ignorance of it all, his less frequent visits home and general disinterest, until a woman shows up at her home with a baby in hand. Mick’s baby. One month younger than her current youngest, Jay. June finally cracks.
Interestingly, she holds no resentment toward the woman or the baby, only with Mick. June takes baby Hudson in as her own, a sudden “twin brother” to Jay to all who didn’t know the truth. It’s pretty close to an exact 180 of the Catelyn Stark, Robb Stark, and Jon Snow situation in Game of Thrones.
Despite it all, June tries to keep it all patched together. It doesn’t last. This time, Mick takes it even further and divorces June to marry a young, famous Hollywood starlet. June’s dreams have failed. She is stuck at the place she has sworn never to depend on- the family restaurant. Mick later tries one last chance with June, and they have their last child, Kit. Old ways happen again. This time, Mick doesn’t return and abandons his family completely. The Rivas struggle immensely with finances. June works herself to the bone, still never blaming the children. She does everything for them.
This devotion has its price… alcohol. Over time, it becomes a complete dependency—so much so that Nina learns to drive at 14 to save her siblings and herself from her drunken mother at the wheel. From that moment on, Nina quickly becomes the homemaker and leader, the dependable eldest daughter.
The kids’ escape becomes the beach—losing their troubles in the waves. An abandoned surfboard that they borrow for an afternoon becomes everyone’s obsession. Since it wasn’t their board, June saves for the rest of the year for each with their own.
Eventually, June loses herself to alcoholism, and it goes too far one night. Nina and her siblings are entirely on their own and she has to pick up the pieces... not even an adult herself. Nina sacrifices everything to care for Jay, Hud, and Kit; she eventually drops out to take on the restaurant full-time. It barely keeps them afloat. By the miracle of Nina’s hard work, her siblings graduate, and part of her workload lifts off her shoulders.
Nina enjoys surfing during the free time she suddenly finds herself with. She then catches the eye of someone looking for a surfer to photograph, and the project takes off.
Suddenly, Nina Riva is a star. Through this sports modeling career, she meets her future husband, pro tennis player Brandon Randall. Someone to share the moments with her family like she’s dreamed of. They married in 1982, a year before the present timeline.
The consequences of Mick Riva’s actions set Malibu ablaze. In the ashes, freedom and new beginnings take shape.
End of total spoiler zone
Taylor Jenkins Reid tells a story of generational grief, financial tensions, and the dark sides of fame and stardom. In 30 years, as people transform, so does Malibu itself. From a quaint beachside town of family homes and the working class, Malibu shifts into the pinnacle of luxurious mansions of the elite. Still, it is flammable in the same way.
This ensemble cast of characters shines with the complicated issue of family dynamics. A flawed man never meant to be a father, a mother sacrificing everything for her kids, the eldest sister forced to grow up too soon, and younger siblings who fight and argue but never cause these sacrifices to be in vain.
Relationships are torn apart, some are formed, and burdens are created and shed in this place. Struggle, in its many forms, thrives just as much excessive luxury. The rocky bluffs contain a compilation of walking contradictions at every turn.
Destiny, fate, and luck push and pull against each other throughout the book. June’s parents believe her fate to be the restaurant and end up correct. June rebels as much as possible, but it changes nothing. It is always a thorn in her side that she wants to keep her children far away from. It later becomes their saving grace, a familial legacy that keeps them alive that they can’t let fail. It is a necessary burden until it’s not. Once its role in the Riva family is complete, they can set it free into a new legacy and family. Just as they eventually achieve for themselves.
Mick Riva catalyzes incredible fame, luxury, legacy, immense grief, and sorrow. He is the keeper of an entire family’s trauma and suffering. He lingers and haunts in the dark, the TV, the radio, and every grocery store aisle. A father that the public is more familiar with than he is with his own blood. Despite it all, he is also the key to freeing his children of all the pain he has ever caused. It’s only natural for such an explosion to happen at the biggest event in Malibu.
The story was smooth and completely flew by. The result seems to be a mix of my interest in the characters and their lives, my familiarity with the writing style, and my knowledge of the “living” universe in which several of Jenkins Reid’s books take place. The world feels lived in, and many stories seem to struggle to accomplish that.
When something with this quality comes up, it likely already has my interest hook, line, and sinker. Complicated people with believably messy lives also find it challenging to write naturally. Here, it looks so easy- highlighting the craft itself.
Malibu Rising sets itself as a centerpiece of the universe that Jenkins Reid has created thus far. Small connections to her other works in passing make the environment feel alive. Mick Riva, oddly enough, is a significant touchstone connection. His fame leads him to become one of the seven husbands of a certain Hollywood starlet (by then, he is so out of touch that she isn’t even named). Mentions of a particular 60s/70s rock band, pivotal magazines in other books, and the branching connections of the Riva family all become their own Easter eggs.
Nina’s husband introduces tennis star Carrie Soto, the future main character of her own novel. The small details woven into these works' fabric genuinely make the difference. The reader is rewarded with nuggets and winking tidbits of information that are only significant to those who know and pay attention.
This whirlwind experience was an absolute joy. As you might expect, I highly recommend trying this book and everything else in this shared universe. The more you delve into the details, the more fun you’ll have.
Thank you for reading.