Slow Dance

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell is a heartfelt and quietly powerful story about lost dreams, first love, and the possibility of reconnection after years apart.

At the center of the novel is Shiloh Butler, a woman who once imagined a very different life for herself. She was going to be an actress, armed with a scholarship and big plans to leave North Omaha behind. Her best friend, Cary, was just as focused on getting out, with his sights set on the Navy. Together, they spent hours on the front porch dreaming of the future. Cary, with his steady nature and quiet strength, was probably the most decent person Shiloh ever knew.

But life didn’t go as planned. Shiloh hasn’t spoken to Cary in fourteen years. Now thirty-three, she’s a divorced mother living in the same house she grew up in, working a job that’s nothing like the life she imagined. When an invitation to a high school friend’s wedding arrives, it stirs up everything she thought she had buried. Cary is the first person she thinks of. She longs to see him again, but fears what he might see in her.

The beautiful twist is that Cary wants to see her too.

In Slow Dance, Rainbow Rowell offers an emotionally rich return to adult fiction. This is a love story full of vulnerability, forgiveness, and grace. With her trademark compassion and wit, Rowell captures the quiet moments that define us and the relationships that shape who we are. It is a deeply romantic, deeply human novel that will linger with you long after the final page.