Malibu Rising: A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Featured on Today • From the author of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo . . .

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Time, Marie Claire, PopSugar, Parade, Teen Vogue, Self • “Irresistible . . . High drama at the beach, starring four sexy, surfing siblings and their deadbeat, famous-crooner dad.”—People

Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, the family drama that ensues will change their lives will change forever.

Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come rising to the surface.

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.

This edition includes an interview with the author, book club discussion questions, and more!

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including Carrie Soto Is Back, Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their daughter.

“If summer could somehow fit into a book, then you’d find it in Malibu Rising.”—Oprah Daily

“Reid has once again crafted a fast-paced, engaging novel that smoothly transports readers between decades and story lines.”—The Washington Post

“Taylor Jenkins Reid soars with Malibu Rising.”—Associated Press

“Reid delivers a breathtaking, epic family novel.”—Marie Claire

“A compulsively fun read.”—Today

“Reid’s descriptions of Malibu are so evocative that readers will swear they feel the sea breeze on their faces or the grit of the sand between their toes. . . . A compulsively readable story about the bonds between family members and the power of breaking free.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Whatever Reid releases has become a major literary event. And her latest more than lives up to the expectations.”—E! Online

“Malibu Rising is a fun, unforgettable read.”—Business Insider

“Delicious drama.”—Vogue

“A must-read.”—Parade

“Taylor Jenkins Reid sure knows how to tell a story. . . . It’s an unforgettable book about an unforgettable night.”—HelloGiggles

Malibu Rising is a family story set against the glamorous, fragile backdrop of Malibu, following the four famous Riva siblings over the course of one dramatic day and night in 1983, while also tracing how their complicated past led them there. The novel centers on Nina Riva, a talented surfer and photographer who has become a reluctant celebrity. She is the eldest child of legendary singer Mick Riva, a man adored by the public but careless and deeply damaging as a father. Nina has spent most of her life holding the family together after their mother June was left to raise the children largely on her own. As the book opens, it is the day of Nina’s annual end of summer party, a Malibu event so notorious that celebrities and strangers alike will do almost anything to attend. On the surface, the party is a symbol of Nina’s success and the Riva siblings’ golden lives, but underneath, each of them is quietly struggling with personal turmoil that will erupt as the night unfolds.

The Riva siblings are Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit. Jay is a professional surfer with a promising career, known for his charm and natural talent in the water. Hud is a photographer and Jay’s best friend, often working behind the scenes and chronicling Jay’s surfing triumphs. Kit, the youngest, is still trying to figure out who she is and what she wants, standing in the long shadows cast by her older siblings. All four of them share a deep bond shaped by hardship: growing up nearly abandoned by Mick and watching June do everything she can to keep them fed, clothed, and loved, even as she becomes increasingly worn down. The novel moves back and forth in time, alternating between the events of the party day and the family’s history, showing how the small choices and big betrayals of the past created the tense, fragile present the siblings now inhabit.

In the past storyline, we see June as a hopeful young woman who falls in love with Mick Riva, believing in his promises and dreams. At first, their relationship seems exciting and full of possibility, but Mick’s ambition and selfishness quickly reveal themselves. He cheats, leaves, returns, and breaks her heart again and again, until June is left to pick up the pieces and raise their children alone. Malibu, with its beautiful coastline and surfing culture, becomes both a refuge and a place of struggle. The Riva kids grow up close to the ocean, learning to surf and discovering that the water is one thing that always makes sense: the waves are powerful, indifferent, and pure, unlike the messy tangle of their family life. As June’s health and emotional stability decline under the pressure, Nina gradually steps into a parental role, sacrificing her own dreams to care for her siblings.

Back in 1983, on the day of the party, each sibling carries a secret or a heavy question. Nina has recently been publicly humiliated by her husband, a famous athlete who left her, turning her into tabloid fodder. She feels exposed and unsure of who she is beyond the roles of “Mick Riva’s daughter,” “supermodel,” and “host of the most iconic party in Malibu.” Jay is dealing with a serious injury that threatens his surfing career, along with complicated feelings about a woman he has been seeing. Hud is buried in guilt because he has fallen in love with the same woman and has not yet confessed this betrayal to Jay. Kit feels like the overlooked younger sister, longing to carve out her own path and wondering if her future is in surfing or somewhere else entirely. Each of them is, in their own way, standing at a turning point.

As evening falls, guests begin to pour into Nina’s cliffside house overlooking the Pacific. The party starts as a glittering spectacle: models, rock stars, actors, producers, and wannabes mix with surfers and locals; music blasts, drinks flow, and the house fills beyond capacity. The narrative frequently dips away from the core family to briefly show the lives and dramas of the party’s attendees, emphasizing how everyone carries their own secrets and desires. The atmosphere shifts gradually from lively and glamorous to chaotic and destructive. Old tensions bubble up, bad decisions are made in the heat of the moment, and the party becomes a pressure cooker for all the unresolved emotions the siblings have been carrying.

Throughout the night, the Riva siblings are forced to confront one another and the truths they have tried to avoid. Jay learns about Hud’s relationship, causing pain and anger between the brothers. Kit’s search for her identity leads her to revelations about herself and her place in the world. Nina, exhausted from years of caretaking and putting other people’s needs first, starts to understand that she has to live for herself rather than just holding everything together. The shadow of Mick Riva looms over everything: he has hurt them all, whether by absence, neglect, or selfish choices, and his legacy is woven into their fears about love, loyalty, and belonging.

The ocean and the threat of wildfire act as symbols running through the book. Malibu is beautiful but dangerous; it burns, it erodes, it shifts with every wave and seasonal change. As the party spins further out of control, physical destruction begins to mirror emotional collapse. Property is damaged, relationships crack, and a literal fire eventually breaks out, turning the celebration into a scene of panic and transformation. In the chaos, what truly matters becomes clearer: not fame or parties, but the bonds between the siblings and their ability to stand on their own, separate from the hurt their parents passed down.

By the time the sun rises, Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit have crossed an invisible line. They have faced the worst of their secrets and survived. The house, symbol of Nina’s carefully curated life, is no longer what it was, but the siblings emerge with a new sense of honesty and strength. Nina allows herself to imagine a future where she chooses her own path instead of quietly sacrificing for everyone else. Jay and Hud reckon with their fractured relationship and the need to either repair it or accept its new form. Kit steps forward more confidently, increasingly sure of who she might become. Together, they realize that they are not simply children of Mick Riva and June; they are their own people, shaped by love, pain, and the ocean that has always been there for them.

Ultimately, Malibu Rising is about inherited wounds and the choice to break cycles rather than repeat them. It shows how a single wild night can expose long buried truths, and how, sometimes, destruction is the beginning of rebuilding. The Riva siblings start the day burdened by the past, but by the end, they have claimed more of their own identities. Malibu, with its rising flames and crashing waves, becomes the setting for their rebirth—a place where they finally let go of what has been burning them from the inside and step into lives that belong to them, not to the fame or failures of their parents.