Breakaway Books

Authored by Megan Tady; Published December 2024; Fiction

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️

Bluebird Day is centered on a complex mother-daughter relationship that needs a lot of therapy to sort out—but it has just enough escapist elements (e.g. snowed in in a cozy hostel in Switzerland) to relieve the tension.

In Bluebird Day, Wylie is trying to prove—to herself, to her Olympian mom Claudine, to the world—that she is not a quitter. Ever since she flamed out on her skiing career in spectacular fashion, she has felt the need to show everyone that she is a success, and winning a fitness competition in Berlin is just the ticket. But a last minute injury to her boyfriend/teammate leaves her scrambling and eventually she has to resort to begging her mom to join her. The two meet in Switzerland, where unbeknownst to Wylie, Claudine will try to convince her old skier friend to keep secret the identity of Wylie’s father. An avalanche topples all their best laid plans, and all of a sudden, Switzerland doesn’t seem quite big enough to contain all of their secrets.

I give bonus points to this novel because it is one of few that I’ve read where the mom, boomer though she may be, is the one who is working through her issues in therapy. The issues between Claudine and Wylie may resonate with a lot of high-achieving millennial women—Wylie feels like her mother’s love and approval has always been contingent on Wylie’s ability to achieve, and she is constantly fighting the voice in her head telling her that she is not good enough. Wylie wants to be able to pursue art as something she does for joy, rather than a trade that has to be monetized, but that concept seems beyond her mother’s comprehension. There’s a type of catharsis in listening to the two of them duke it out and realizing that Claudine is merely passing on what she received herself. (Wylie’s relationship with boyfriend Dan is far less cathartic to observe. Frankly, he just seems like a jerk.)

But the novel isn’t all mother-daughter drama. It takes place against the backdrop of an extremely scenic Swiss hostel, complete with men singing a cappella and abundant fondue and pastries. Every time the secrets between Claudine and Wylie get to be too much, there’s an exceedingly attractive man about to present them with a croissant or a wacky older couple ready to offer wisdom in the most bizarre way possible. The novel is the perfect winter getaway inspiration, with snow swirling and the mountain towering above Claudine and Wylie. Thank goodness for the scenery, or the anxiety that emanates from their memories of competitive skiing would just about ruin winter for me. Claudine and Wylie are elite athletes who had their time in the sun far before women like Simon Biles and Coco Gauff made it acceptable to talk about the toll that Olympic level competition has on mental health, and the novel gives me a deeper appreciation for athletes who remind us that they are human.

Bluebird Day isn’t a holiday novel, but it is quite the love song to winter and the complicated mother-daughter bond. Pick it up if you think you’ll be getting snowed in soon!