California Golden is an entertaining family saga that's filled with nostalgia. The setting is the California beach scene in the 1960's. Benjamin tells the story of two sisters and their neglectful surfer mom. The sisters lives take very different paths, but they become connected in a shocking way. A definite must read.

I throughly enjoyed this book and the historical time this book covers. I was transported to the beaches of California and the life of surfer girls. All three Donnelly girls were unlikeable but also well developed. They all made different choices and faced challenging moments. I don't think I connected with any of them but thier stories were interesting. I always seem to enjoy Melanie Benajmin's books and felt the same about this one.

This just wasn’t for me. I felt like the characters were just awful, and I need someone to root for. Also felt like there was so much shoved in for the 60s feel that the book felt surface level at a lot of times. I’ll try this author again in the future.

Melanie Benjamin paints a vivid picture of surf culture in the 60s and 70s; the people, the stigma, the call of the ocean that drowns out all others. But even more than that, she shows how our decisions can have lasting repercussions and change the course of lives. Her characters are severely flawed, Carol especially, and these flaws radiate and cause hurt and damage her daughters’ self-esteem. Following these three was like watching a slow train wreck but the story is emotional and engrossing. They’re not the most likeable of characters but the story and writing draw you in and keep you hooked until the very end.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

They are known as “the Donnelly girls” at the beach in Malibu. Mother, Carol, and her two daughters, Mindy and Ginger, are a familiar sight in the surf, even though female surfers are rare in the 1950s and 60s. The girls know that if they don’t join their mother in surfing, they will never see her. All they want is their mother’s love and attention, but Carol Donnelly’s one and only love will always be the beach.

As they grow up, Mindy and Ginger’s lives follow drastically different paths. Mindy wants fame, and Ginger wants family. Forever connected by the emotional damage they suffered growing up, they drift in and out of each other’s lives throughout the years. This story is about what can happen when we dare to want something different from what society says is appropriate.

The first half of this book was a little slow for me, but it picked up near the mid-point, and I really liked it after that. The characters are all well-written, even though not all of them are likeable. I enjoyed reading about this time period in history. It seems like most historical fiction is set around WWII, so this was a nice change of pace, although it still wrung me out emotionally. I’ll be thinking about it for a while.

At first I wasn’t sure how much I would love this book. It started really strong, but then was feeling a little drawn out. Then it was all coming together and I FELL IN LOVE!!! I may even had shed a tear!

California Golden is Melanie Bejamin’s homage to the carefree days of the 1960’s where free to be meant sex, drugs and rock and roll, where in California, surfing, sun and sand, beach bums and bonfires were all the rage. But the story is so much deeper than frolicking in the water and winning surfing competitions. It’s about a mother and her two daughters whose lives are changed not so much by what they did, but more because of what was expected of them during that time. Had they been able to pursue their own dreams, rather that fit the societal norms, perhaps their lives would have been different.

Carol Donnelly broke the surfing mold for women back in the 1960’s. When the male surfers told her she couldn’t do it, she proved not only could she, but she could win competition against them. An athlete in college, Carol was on her way to Chicago to try out for the first all-women baseball team. She found out she was pregnant. So, she put her dreams on hold, went back and married, and had two children, both girls, Mindy and Ginger.

But in her heart, she still wanted to follow her passion and unfortunately had a difficult time relating to her two girls. She tried. But when she discovered surfing, she chose one over the other. She began taking them with her daily to the beach, even though that meant they missed school. She would forget to buy food or feed them at all. With her husband traveling she was left to be the adult. But the reality was she had never really grown up.

She decided perhaps her love of surfing could translate to her love for her daughters, so she decided to teach her girls to surf. Mindy caught on right away and became just as good if not better than her mother. Ginger not so much. So, Carol spent more time with Mindy and Mindy spent more time with Ginger. Both dropped out of high school.

And that’s when all three go in radically different directions. The girls leave home. Carol continues to surf, knowing she was not the mother she should have been.

Mindy becomes a champion surfer with an agent, partying every night, popular with the Hollywood in-crowd and waiting for her next break. Until she makes a mistake. Something looked down upon and perhaps career ending. She must make a decision.

Ginger just becomes lost. She hooks up with a beach bum whose only job is to hustle drugs and is into just about everything illegal. But Ginger knows in her heart he loves her and can’t let him go not matter what he does. It’s the first time she’s ever felt valued, and she won’t lose that feeling for fear she will never have it again.

The story chronicles the Donnelly women’s lives and what happens to them until they come together years later. They’ve all lived hard lives. But, perhaps it’s time to move past all the anger and hardship and misunderstandings and try for once to be the family they never knew how to be.

California Golden is the story of society influencing choices rather than following one’s heart, tragedies, hard times and becoming an adult. It’s about forgiveness and how ultimately love wins out.

Thank you #NetGalley #DelacortPress #MelanieBenjamin #CaliforniaGolden for the advanced copy.

Very surprised by this- and not in a good way. I loved the cover and thought it perfectly encapsulated summer and the time period, but the characters felt surface level and I didn't feel she quite accurately captured some of the more serious topics (sexism, racism). One of the characters came off as overtly racist, and I had a hard time reconciling with that. Not my favorite, though I have enjoyed other works by the author.

Melanie Benjamin's latest historical fiction novel is set in California during the 1950's and 1960's and showcases the California surf culture.

We meet Carol in the 1950's, she is a female athlete in an era when women are expected to be housewives. She marries and gives birth to Mindy and Ginger. Carol becomes a trailblazer, becoming a legendary female surfer in a male dominated sport.

Her training and lifestyle come at the expense of her young daughters who are basically raising themselves as Carol is emotionally distant and barely meets the girls' basic needs.

As the girls grow up Mindy is a surfing natural and surpasses her mother in talent. What follows is a coming-of-age story of each daughter as we see the paths they choose.

This was a refreshing story in the historical fiction genre as it doesn't focus on WW2 and shines a light on a seldom written about era. The story was engaging, and the characters were compelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this great book.

I really enjoyed the historical aspects of California Golden. The story delved deep into the surfing culture and how women were treated during the 50's and 60's all the way up to 1980, along with the drug culture and Vietnam of the era.

Carol was a strong athlete with high hopes of playing professional baseball in the women's league during WWII until she gets pregnant right as she graduates from high school. Her future is no longer up to her as she is married off and becomes a mother at 19. Carol has two daughters, Mindy and Ginger, but her life is in the water where she learns to surf and competes, pushing her body to do more than just push out babies.

Mindy and Ginger never feel a great love from their mother but the do everything she says to keep her happy. Mindy is a natural in the surf just like her mom and Ginger tries but was never a natural. The two sisters live diverge as young adults, one living the surfing life with movie stars, one into cults and drugs.

Although I really appreciated the historical aspects of the book, I didn't really like any of the characters. It's understandable how they were all damaged but I just couldn't relate to any of them, especially Ginger, I wanted to yell at her numerous times.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This sounded like it would be up my alley (60s, California, etc.). but it was not really about act. It was much more about surfing than I would have cared for -- so if you're looking for that, a good choice.

If you know me, you know I really enjoy Melanie Benjamin’s novels. My very favorites of hers were The Aviator’s Wife (about one of my heroes, Anne Morrow Lindbergh) and The Swans of Fifth Avenue. This novel was slightly different for me as she was writing about people who didn’t really exist. The read felt like historical fiction, but there was no nonfiction for me to hang my hat on, if that makes sense. So this read more like a novel set in the past (1960/70s) in California. Once my mindset was in that space, I easily latched on to the characters and storyline. This was a moving story: at times I wanted to cry for how neglected these young girls were, and I found that storyline very engaging. I loved reading about California as I grew up there (though I’m a wine country girl, not a SoCal beach person).

Melanie Benjamin’s prose is always a treat. She writes artfully, placing the reader into the character’s head and helping us to understand their motivations and desires. I look forward to seeing what she brings to us next!

Thank you for my review copy via Net Galley!

I lived in SoCal during the time period this book is set in so was sucked right in. The beaches, the Gidget movies and music were very familiar and I breezed through the first third of the book. I laughed at Mindy when her beehive air and fake eyelashes got soaked in the surf. Hairspray was a girl’s best friend.

The second third was all about the drugs, hippies and communes. Music moved from drug-fueled rock like Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane, to Dick Dale and The Beach Boys. Surfing had become a popular weekend activity instead of a lifestyle. Carol dragged her two daughters, Mindy and Ginger, to Hawaii where surfing was still pure. I found Carol’s obsession with surfing tedious to read. She loved surfing, she didn’t love her children and easily abandoned them. If it weren’t for Jimmy Cho, I wouldn’t have liked a single character.

At this point I felt like I was just ticking boxes. All that was missing was the VietNam war. Oh wait, that comes in the last third of the book, but at least it was back to being readable and I liked the characters again. I was disappointed at how quickly and easily the author wrapped everything up but I was ready to be done.

I was fascinated by the history of surfing and the lack of a role for women in this sport. This story features a mother and her two daughters who are caught up first in the California surfing community and then also the Hawaii surfing community. Their lives and relationships are very complicated as the mother prefers surfing to motherhood and the daughters are just trying to keep their family together and will go to many lengths to make that happen, until it doesn't. The story is told from multiple viewpoints. The first half focuses on the daughters and the next portion is the mother's story, until the end brings it all back together. It is very hard to connect with these characters who make such complicated decisions. The theme of forgiveness and moving forward was very central to bringing this story together. Racism is also featured and it is important to remember this story takes place from the 1940s to the 1970s with the main focus on the 50s and 60s.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy. My opinion is my own.

I enjoyed this, I think I finished it in 3 days or something like that. My only complaint was the ending. While I'm glad of the reunion, I feel like it was too neat and too open ended on the issue of Melinda and Ginger. I guess my imagination will fill it what I think and hope happens.

This is my first book by Benjamin. I've been following her for awhile, just never picked up one of her books. This intrigued me because I've always been fascinated by the time and sub-culture that emerged in the late 1960s California.

I liked this one, but I didn't love it. The beginning was a bit choppy, but then it smoothed out. I guess because I didn't love the characters, I didn't love the book--that's how it usually works for me. We follow three women in southern California in the 50's and 60's. The mother was not a typical stay at home mother-in fact, she would rather be at the beach surfing than tucking her two girls into bed. The girls raise themselves and follow their mother's love of surfing. It was an interesting look, though, behind the stories of the early surfers, including what it was like for female surfers.

Confession: I almost DNF'd this book about 50 pages into it. I found the beginning chapters very confusing and disjointed and I had a hard time getting connected to the characters. BUT, then I got pulled into each sister's narrative and found myself really looking forward to my reading time every day. The mother storyline was also interesting... I think it's very necessary to explore more women who wrestle with motherhood and its responsibilities. Overall, I'd give this 3.5 stars.

I have read most, if not all, of Melanie Benjamin’s books and have thoroughly enjoyed them. I have to admit I had a hard time with this one.
The primary characters are an basically absent mother, the older sister who tries to break away and take a different path, and the younger one whose insecurities has her in a dangerous relationship with drugs and a man.
Non me of the characters elicited any emotion from me. The writing style was not as crisp as her previous books.
I hope Ms Benjamin’s next book is better.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

I have read several Melanie Benjamin books and she is quickly becoming an auto-buy author. I love coming of age stories and in California Golden we watch Mindy and Ginger grow up in the surf community of Southern California in the 1960s. One journey is frustrating while the other is heartbreaking. Add in surf championships, cult culture, the Vietnam war, and an absent mother, and we have another Melanie Benjamin book I couldn’t put down. This one will make you think about what you would sacrifice to achieve your own dreams and how the fallout would affect those around you.

This novel brought me back to the 60s when The Beach Boys sang about California surfing, and Beach movies starred all our favorites. The story centered around Carol Donnelly (one of the first female surfers in California), and her 2 daughters - Mindy and Ginger. Carol was focused on surfing (with the guys who ruled the sport) and brought her daughters along. They too took up surfing - Mindy successfully and Ginger struggling in the water. The core theme of the novel was the girls desperation for love and caring from their mother. Carol was so self absorbed that she neglected them entirely. Mindy (the older sister) took responsibility for Ginger in order to keep them out of the foster system and potential adoption/separation.
These flawed characters made their ways through life with many stumbling blocks along the way. Melanie Benjamin brings out the California lifestyle, sibling relationships, family, racism, drug use, motherhood and the Vietnam war, in predictable ways and gives the characters ineffective ways to handle their issues. There were a few coincidences in the story which diluted the message. Midway though the book. we hear Carol's history, which shows us why she behaved the way she did.
I thought the book gave a good depiction of the 60s culture, but I felt that the characters were too one dimensional and that made the situations and their outcomes predictable.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and the opinions expressed are my own. I rate the book 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for the historical elements.