Marisol Cruz can’t understand what happened to her life, and more importantly, her dreams. She is a single mother living with her parents in Santa Cruz, barely making a living by selling raffle tickets on the Boardwalk. But when she stumbles across the obituary of Violet Harcourt, a young beauty queen from the area who died seventy years ago and has a mysterious connection to Marisol’s grandfather, her curiosity is awakened. Accompanied by Jason, a recent transplant from Chicago who is struggling to adjust to casual California life, Marisol sets out to discover more about Violet’s life, and in the process, she gains a new appreciation for her hometown and her family. Unrated. Commercial audio book. In this new novel from the author of The Dressmaker’s Dowry, two young women two generations apart discover the joy and heartbreak of following their dreams. Aspiring Hollywood actress Violet makes a shocking choice in 1940, and seventy years later, Mari sets out to discover what happened on that long ago summer. Santa Cruz, Summer 1940: When auburn-haired Violet Harcourt is crowned Miss California on the boardwalk of her hometown, she knows she is one step closer to her cherished dream: a Hollywood screen test. But Violet’s victory comes with a price–discord in her seemingly perfect marriage–and she grapples with how much more she is willing to pay. Summer 2007: Single mother Marisol Cruz lives with her parents in the charming beach cottage that belonged to her grandfather, Ricardo, once a famed performer on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Drawn to the town’s local history and the quaint gazebo where her grandparents danced beneath the stars, Mari sells raffle tickets at the Beach Boardwalk Centennial Celebration, and meets Jason, a California transplant from Chicago. When Mari discovers the obituary of Violet Harcourt, a beauty queen who died too young, she and Jason are sent on a journey together that will uncover her grandfather’s lifelong secret–his connection to Violet–a story of tragedy and courage that will forever transform them. Additional subjects: Missing persons California Los Angeles Fiction; Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) Fiction
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