Dear Great Book Guru, Well September has arrived… and with it all the great Fall events that fill up the Sea Cliff calendar. Next week is the iconic Newcomers’ Welcoming Party hosted by the Sea Cliff Civic Association. Having moved to the Village a few months ago, I plan to attend. I’m wondering if you have a great book suggestion for me - I’d love to have something to talk about if things get a little quiet. Nervous Newcomer

Dear Nervous Newcomer, Never fear - the Newcomers Party is a delight and there will not be a single awkward moment! However, I do have a good book you might want to read just for pleasure: WE RUN THE TIDES by Vendela Vida. Part mystery, part coming-of-age novel, part travelogue, this book takes us on a fascinating journey back in time to another Sea Cliff (yes!) - a waterfront San Francisco community circa 1984. Pre-tech wealth, San Francisco is a bit shabby - enclaves of wealth and privilege, but also very much counter-culture. The novel’s narrator is Eulabee, a teenager whose artist/nurse parents bought their home as a fixer-upper but feel it necessary to send her to an exclusive girls’ school where she meets up with the very wealthy Maria Fabiola. The girls form a deep friendship based on a shared desire to defy authority and embrace danger.  When they find themselves enmeshed in a mystery even the adults can’t unravel, the girls question what is true, what is real and …most importantly, whether they can trust one another? Recommended!