[Book Review] The Hotel on St. James Place: Growing up in Atlantic City between the Boardwalk and the Holocaust by Molly Golubcow

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By Molly Golubcow

Molly Golubcow’s memoir focuses on growing up in Atlanta City in the early 1970s between it’s early hay day and the modern day casino boom. Her parents, Holocaust survivors who grew up in a Polish shtetl, become the proprietors of the Seacrest, near the boardwalk, which was home to a colorful cast of residents.

Golubcow’s book consists of seventeen unique stories of life in the hotel and the interesting characters who called it home. The stories are well-crafted and relatable. While this is a non-fiction work, the stories contained in this book would make for an excellent TV series, or possibly a film. I thoroughly enjoyed the very engaging writing.

The book also gives a sweet depiction of the author’s parents, Harry and Sonia, and her beautiful memories of them. I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

More About the Author

Molly Golubcow

Even as a child, Molly Golubcow expressed herself – with words as well as her pen (or Crayon). To her family’s chagrin, she often wrote and drew inside the blank pages of her older brother’s books – why else were the pages left empty?

With a degree in English, Molly was able to write professionally her entire career. As a technical writer, she covered an array of topics ranging from NASA telemetry systems to health care policy & procedures. In her spare time, she entertains the right side of her brain writing non-technical short stories, articles, and interviews. Her works have been published in several anthologies as well as in newspaper and magazines: Atlantic City Weekly, Montgomery Life, Boardwalk Journal, New Jersey Lifestyle, South Jersey, & JerseyMan. Her favorite subjects to write about center around her home, her roots – Atlantic City and New Jersey in general.

Her first book, The Hotel on St. James Place: Growing up in Atlantic City between the Boardwalk and the Holocaust tells her story – a hybrid of memoir and vivid vignettes that juxtapose her parents, Holocaust survivors and proprietors of a small hotel in Atlantic City, next to some colorful characters ranging from pimps to runaways. All promising to add up to an unforgettable journey of resilience, survival, and acceptance.

Molly is currently working on her next book – a detective novel set in Atlantic City – you never know what can be happening on and under the Boardwalk.

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December 2020 Book Review Wrap Up

So many books, so little time! I am an avid reader and love to share recommendations with fellow readers. My choice in books tend to vary by my mood but some of my favorites are mystery, suspense, thriller, and humor. Get my reviews direct to your inbox every Wednesday and check back here for monthly…

January 2021 Book Review Wrap Up

So many books, so little time! I am an avid reader and love to share recommendations with fellow readers. My choice in books tend to vary by my mood but some of my favorites are mystery, suspense, thriller, and humor. Get my reviews direct to your inbox every Wednesday and check back here for monthly…

February 2021 Book Review Wrap Up

So many books, so little time! I am an avid reader and love to share recommendations with fellow readers. My choice in books tend to vary by my mood but some of my favorites are mystery, suspense, thriller, and humor. Get my reviews direct to your inbox every Wednesday and check back here for monthly…

Join 5,500+ Followers

As a thank you for registering for our email list, you’ll receive free printable reading journal templates and a bonus 100 book reading list! Members of the email list also receive an exclusive discount code for my Etsy store: MapleStreetStudioHRS.

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