Melanie Benjamin pairs the surf culture of the Beach Boys with the sex, drugs, and rock n roll of Daisy Jones & the Six. . . . Benjamin s novel is a portrait of three women beset by shifting cultural tides and a shimmering rendering of the promises and heartbreak of Southern California. Entertainment Weekly
If you re looking for a meticulously detailed breakdown of surf culture, look no further than Melanie Benjamin s new novel . . . [a book] teeming with sand, sun, water, hot-pink bikinis and hamburger stands. . . . California Golden plants its feet firmly on the board and rides a powerful wave of nostalgia, eyes focused on the opportunities and dangers ahead. Los Angeles
Times
Benjamin vividly evokes the squalor and splendor of California surfing culture in this richly-textured novel that explores sisterhood, motherhood, ambition and friendship, with characters who rise alive from the page. It s rare to find such raw, honest sympathy for human beings and their capacity for mistakes and redemption.
California Golden is a breath of bracing salt air. Beatriz Williams, author of
A Hundred SummersA gripping story about the power of family ties set in the edgy California surf culture and the glamorous and sometimes dangerous world of Hollywood celebrity,
California Golden takes readers on an emotional, page-turning ride. Elyssa Friedland, author of
The Most Likely ClubC
alifornia Golden left me breathless. Against the shimmering backdrop of California s burgeoning surf culture, Melanie Benjamin explores the bonds of sisterhood and motherhood in an era where society, and its expectations of women, are ever changing. The Donnelly women, perfect in their imperfections, will stay with you long after the last page. Shelby Van Pelt, author of
Remarkably Bright CreaturesMelanie Benjamin does a superb job of showing the complicated relationships that happen in so many families. Her ability to describe the scenery of the California surf scene is unmatched. This is the perfect story for readers who want to get lost in an emotional novel about breaking barriers and being a family. Rachel Hanna,
USA Today and
Wall Street Journal bestselling author of
The Beach HouseYou can practically hear The Beach Boys singing California Girls in this novel about surfer sisters Mindy and Ginger Donnelly and their mother, Carol, a world-class athlete and terrible mom. Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid s
Malibu Rising will enjoy this story, which shares some of same locales, but the dysfunctional family at its center is one of a kind . . . This sun-soaked novel is wonderfully awash in the music, television, and fashion of the 60s as well as the counterculture movement.
Kirkus ReviewsWith the charm and nostalgia of Beth Harbison s
Confessions of the Other Sister and Amy Mason Doan s
Lady Sunshine, Benjamin s novel also shows what the sun-kissed highlight reels so often missed.
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