I couldn't put it down -- it made me cry, made me laugh and always made me want to see what happens next. Loved it!

This is an amazing book. A wonderful recreation of a time and place. It's not about Atlantic City. It's about life. Happy, sad, bittersweet. It even has a touch of magic in it. I hope this author continues to write. Enjoy it.

"If you don't know how," I asked, "can you tell me why?"

Jimmy looked up, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"You never asked why before. You only asked how."

"Okay, now I'm asking why."

His grin faded. He looked me in the eye. "To protect you." He stuffed another hunk of pastry in his mouth and washed it down with a gulp of water.

With jobs disappearing as casinos declare bankruptcy, Atlantic City in 2014 teeters on the brink of a plunge into darkness. But the Atlantic City Jason shares with his wife and daughter is the Atlantic City of his youth, when he lived and worked at the beach in his father’s soft pretzel store, where his family had close, trusting relationships with the owners of other stores, arcades, restaurants. Yes, it was a little seedy. Yes, it was down-at-the-heels. But everything existed on a human scale, and lives were interwoven in ways that created deep and lasting bonds....

There was a kind of magic that followed the cycle of the seasons which infused and energized the life of those who lived in harmony with that cycle. The gypsy families who did business in New Jersey through the summer would disappear to areas further south, to see the Gypsy King, each winter. Can you get any more mysterious and mythical than that?...

Also in the ebb and flow of Jason’s narrative is the tidal shift of the 1960s.  The teenage girls stop wearing bras, the teenage boys grow their hair long. Rock and roll music changes dramatically. The smell of pot drifts through the summer air. Social and political unrest, civil rights struggles, Vietnam protests, all become a subtle blend of the colors of the times. 

Jason is coming of age in one of the most tumultuous times in our country’s recent history, and what he learns of life is a combination of the sorrows of wintertime and the Dionysian risks of a 1960s Summerland.... 

In Mr. Boardwalk, an older, more magical Atlantic City manages to shine through, first in the glimmering shadows and then more boldly, taking shape and standing fully realized through the memories and devotion of a young boy’s love. Greenstein weaves a story of past and present in a way that creates a sense of timelessness.

I cleared my throat. "I just wanted to introduce myself," I began, "and see if it would be okay for Sarah and me to be friends and hang out after school once in a while and maybe go to a movie sometimes on a Friday or Saturday night. We'll be home early. You can drive us, or my dad can if you're too busy." Pretty clever, I thought, asking her to drive, as if she actually would.

"What does your father do?" asked Mrs. Gilquist. "What's he in?"

In? On my way here, I'd rehearsed answers to her questions, but this was one I hadn't anticipated. He's in aeronautics. He's in law. He's in banking.

"Pretzels," I said, optimistically. "He owns four pretzel bakeries. One in Atlantic City during the summer, and the others are at the Downingtown Farmers Market, the Pennsauken Mart and the Montgomeryville Mart."

She polished off her drink, stood up again and made her way back to the cart. "What's a mart?" she asked while she poured her second drink.

"You know, like a farmers market, with lots of little stalls—stores and stuff. Like clothes and tires, and books and sneakers. Frozen custard."

While Mrs. Gilquist's face was buried in her tumbler I stole a glance at Sarah, who eyed me back cautiously.

"So what do you say?" I asked. "Do you think Sarah and I could go out together once in a while? As friends?"

Mrs. Gilquist looked up. She seemed surprised to see me. She pointed her index finger at me. "Pretzels?" she asked.

"Fresh baked," I said. "Would you like me to bring you a bag? On my next visit? I'll bet you like yours extra salty."

I really enjoyed this book. I remember so many of the places and events that he mentions in this book. All the locations were described accurately. Hard to believe this is the author's first novel. Great debut.

OMG ... it's great!!! I can't put it down, it's well written, spellbinding! It should be made into a movie.

He leaned across the table and lowered his voice. "Actually, I was bangin' her big sister. But then one day I'm over the house, I see this scrawny little fourteen-year-old nuthin' hunched over a sewing machine in the kitchen. 'I didn't know you had a sister,' I say to my girl. I look over at the kid sister and she looks at me. She smiles, I smile. We're all smiles. You ever notice My Edna's smile? Well, before ya know it, the older sister's history even though her tits were bigger." Jimmy raised his palms in wonder. "You see my point?"