This story's setting is in Southern California in the 1960's, which in this era, one thinks of endless surfing and an abundance of night-life options in LA and Hollywood.

Meet the Donnelly family. Carol, the mother, is among the first woman to compete professionally in surfing, a male dominated sport. She is very committed to the sport, however, she is not a very good mom to her daughters Mindy and Ginger.

There is much more to the story than surfing. Plenty of family drama. Basically, Mindy and Ginger raised themselves while their mother keeps struggling to compete in competitions. Mindy has spent a lot of time mastering the surfing sport and gets heavily involved in the party life while Ginger gets involved with drugs and cults.

When I think of growing up in the 1960's I think of shows like Donna Reed where the home was a "happy homemaker" and always putting her family first. So having an absentee mom like Carol Donelly was unorthodox during that time period. I actually felt sorry for Mindy and Ginger who grew up without parents who were involved in their lives. Both daughters were both dealing with abandonment brought on by their mother's obsession with surfing. I was not expecting to read about a dysfunctional family. It definitely was cause for good reading!

Many thanks to NetGalley and author Melissa Benjamin for the ARC. Im looking forward to reading Ms. Benjamin's future work.

3.5 stars. Mindy and Ginger grew up in 1960’s California with a mother more interested in surfing than taking care of children. As they navigate the changing cultural scene in California, they also deal with their changing relationships with each other and with romantic partners. I liked reading about California life in the sixties and the changing mores that occurred throughout the middle to later years of the decade. Some of the characters could have been more dimensional, especially Ginger, which is frustrating because she could have been the most fascinating character but I ended up never fully understanding or believing her. This author writes reliably readable historical fiction that holds your attention throughout, so I would recommend her books. I received a digital advanced review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I loved the 1960s California setting of California Golden, but I struggled to find empathy or understanding for the unlikeable characters. The plot was one sad event after another for these women, with only a teeny glimpse of hope toward the end.

It was a miss for me.

I love beach reads and this one is a fast, fun read. This book had me turning the pages so fast to see what would happen. You will definitely enjoy this summer story. Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Another stellar novel by Ms. Benjamin and well it has sisters in it, so I was bound to read it. Their life wasn’t easy but I did like the ending for them.

California...the Golden State. Benjamin packs in all the glamour of the iconic beach scene that peaked in the 60s, along with its seedy undercurrent. Told from the unique perspective of three surfing women, California Golden follows mom Carol and daughters Mindy and Ginger as they navigate the waves, and life. {Benjamin conveys that the female surfing family idea was inspired by real life surfing family Marge Calhoun and her daughters Candy and Robin.]

Mindy and Ginger are extras in a surfing movie when the book opens. We go back and forth in time from when they were wee girls learning to swim, learn Carol's back story, and their stories weave and unfold. There's a lot of drama. From the movie industry to the surf culture, appropriation from the Hawaiians, Vietnam, dropping acid, cults, sexism, racism, expectations on women in the 50s and 60s (as housewives, of course). The [melo]dramatic narrative demonstrates how Carol, Mindy and Ginger react to that very specific place in time.

Benjamin captures each grain of sand, each perfect wave. The surf scenes are visceral. I did feel the book skewed YA, and in the author's note she indicates wanting the book to feel "younger" while still exploring the past. Mission accomplished.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC. California Golden was published in August 2023.

Excellent historical fiction! It tells the story of a mother and her two daughters all struggling with roles and expectations during one of the most turbulent times in history. I loved learning about surfing history and loved the characters, all so heartbreakingly human in their faults and triumphs that I was sad to see the book end. An excellent read.

California Golden
By Melanie Benjamin
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Delacorte Press for the ARC! Loved this book. Loved this story.
This story will transport you back in time when things were so fresh and new
Enjoyed reading and seeing all the characters evolve.

Highly recommend

3.5 Stars. I've enjoyed Melanie Benjamin's historical fiction in the past so I was looking forward to this new one about a mother and her two daughters in the surfing world in the 1960s. Benjamin always tells a good story that keeps me turning the pages, and I liked the complexity of the relationships in this book. Unfortunately the characters were so flawed as to be unlikeable, so they all just made me sad! I would have liked a bit more meat on the historical aspect, since this book is billed as historical fiction, I expected to learn a bit more that I didn't already know. I'd consider this less historical fiction, and more family drama.

California Golden is a fictional novel about a pair of sisters coming of age in 1960’s California.

Mindy and Ginger were just children when their surfer mother took off for Hawaii to chase big waves and their father finally walked out. Mindy quickly realized that to stay off the radar of children’s services and to make their mother pay attention to them they’d need to become surfers themselves. But Mindy’s beauty and skills in the water bring offers from Hollywood while Ginger falls for an abusive surfer and it’s not long before all three Donnelly women are estranged. Over the next few years Mindy will chase fame from Los Angeles to Vietnam and Ginger will live on the fringes of society clinging to her lover despite his flaws.

California Golden is a story about mothers and daughters and the often stifling rules around gender in the 1960’s. Both Mindy and Ginger try hard to fill the holes left inside them by their indifferent parents and atypical childhood. Mindy tries to grasp success and respectability even if it means turning her back on true love while Ginger’s fear of being left makes her stay with the wrong man. There is also a commentary on the racism of the 60’s and the horrors of the Vietnam war.

Readers that enjoy coming of age stories, historical settings and the complicated relationships between sisters, mothers and daughters will enjoy California Golden.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The synopsis sounded great but this was not a fit for me. I couldn't connect with the makings of this dysfunctional family of unlikeable characters. If you enjoy 1960's family dramas centering on pretty heavy dysfunction and throw in the Malibu surf culture, this may be a better fit for you. DNF at 50%.

This is a beautifully written mother-daughter story set amidst the 1960s California surf culture. Mindy and Ginger's mother, Carole, puts her surfing ahead of the girls, often leaving them to fend for themselves. As the girls begin to grow up, often neglected and wondering when their mother is going to leave for good, they make separate and vastly different decisions for their lives. We also flash back to Carole's earlier life during World War II as she watches her dreams for the future shatter.
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This is as much or more of a story of decisions, consequences, and regret as it is of surfing. The characters are real and flawed, and the reader is drawn into the story. The description is vivid and effective, for example: "If the sand was sugar, then gumballs and peppermint drops dotted the sky in the form of beach balls." The effect on the girls of their mother's abandonment and neglect shows on every page. There comes a time too, when the girls have to make decisions about what kind of mothers they want to be, and the story comes full circle.

This is a beautiful, heartbreaking story that will keep the reader spellbound. Those interested in stories about mothers and daughters will want to pick this one up.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Family, ambition, dedication and competition are a free of the things that are covered in this story. Two surfer sisters in a time when not many women participated in this sport yet they were in it as competitors and going no where. There is a lot of competition throughout the book bit there is also so much emotion and vulnerability. Living in Hawaii where the surfing culture is massive this book was such a good read and i felt like i was in the middle of it at times!

Yea, this is must summer read! The characters are outstanding and just the right amount of I can’t put down moments!

Quick and Dirty ⁣
-early SoCal surf culture⁣
-intense family drama⁣
-coming of age themes ⁣
-full of 1960s pop culture/current events⁣
⁣
Thoughts⁣
This book is unbelievably good, y’all. If you love family dramas, particularly those centered around mothers/daughters/sisters, then this is THE book for you! It’s the perfect combination of historical fiction and intergenerational family drama, with strong coming-of-age themes. I couldn’t get enough of this book and didn’t want it to end. Speaking of the ending: chef’s kiss!!! I fell hard for all these characters, but I was drawn to Mindy most. I saw myself mirrored in her character/story time after time throughout the book. Watching her age and grow over time was a true joy! The author does a marvelous job of portraying the struggle the women faced breaking into a male-dominated sport, but she also captured that generation of women’s struggle to define themselves outside of the home or the traditional marriage path. I also appreciated the author’s choice to include the racial elements, cultural appropriation of Hawaiian culture, and the impact of Vietnam in the story. For anyone who loved Malibu Rising but wanted more from the family drama, this is the book for you. I love TJR and loved Malibu Rosing, but this book, dare I say it, is better. 🫣

My junior high and high school years took place in the 1960s, and much of the music I listened to were The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean. Not living near the ocean, I thought surfing looked exciting! As an adult reader, Melanie Benjamin is a “go-to” author for me.
She definitely brought her “A” game to her new book, CALIFORNIA GOLDEN! The story follows a mother who was a champion surfer who leaves her two girls, Mindy and Ginger, to return to the surfing world in Hawaii. Through their eyes, we follow them as surfing, drugs, and big mistakes shape their lives and pull them apart. I had to put this book down a few times to absorb what I read. In my mind, this book is “golden” and one that I will be thinking about for quite some time. My thanks to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

California Golden is set in the early days of the surfing culture where two sisters, Mindy and Ginger, try to navigate life with a dysfunctional mother and their own choices. Their mother becomes a surfing sensation and in an effort to connect with her, they both learn to surf. Mindy becomes recognized in her own right while Ginger cannot quite keep up. The core of the book is about the relationships between the women and their choice in partners.

A sunny, surfer girl story set on the beaches of California & Hawaii. “California Golden” follows the Donnelly Girls as they navigate the tumultuous years of the ‘60s & ‘70s. A mother not yet ready to grow up. Two daughters in desperate need of guidance.

The story dragged for me at times. I wanted more from the somewhat shallow & vapid characters. In defense of Benjamin’s writing, I may have appreciated the plot line more had I come of age during this time period. Just found it underwhelming coming off some of her other, very engaging, books.

History is full of the data that accumulates when an era shifts and the "norms" change. But the real stories are what happens to the people when they are trying to live two cultures, two distinctive periods in history, two major shifts in what is acceptable and what is not. In early 1960's California, family structure was the same as East Coast living. Dad went to work, Mom stayed home, kids went to school, period. But times were changing, much more quickly on the west coast than the east. When Carol Donnelly decided to make her future in the surfing communities of Southern California, the impact on her daughters could not have been predicted.

California Golden follows the Donnelly sisters as they grow into young women during this changing culture and make life altering decisions with little history to ground them. Melanie Benjamin does an excellent job of keeping the story moving, even when their lives are so different, it's hard to see how their family connection can survive. But survive it does, laying the foundation for the next generation. Will their be a follow on book?

I loved this book. A book about three woman who were surfing when it was a man's sport. I love historical fiction because while the story is not true, the events and mindsets of that time are. I always feel like I learn something from historical fiction.

My heart broke for each of the Donnelly women when reading this book. It starts off with Mindy and Ginger, Carol Donnelly's children. It seems they are after thought to their mother and their father left when Carol didn't give him the attention he needed. Carol's first priority is the ocean. Primarily surfing it. Mindy and Ginger are afraid of being sent into the foster care system, so Mindy comes up with a plan to make sure Carol remembers them. Mindy talks Ginger into learning to surf. Carol is excited about teaching the girls to surf, however Mindy is perhaps even better than her mother. Soon Mindy and Ginger are immersed in the surfing life. Ginger finds love with a surf bum Tom Riley and Mindy finds fame in the movies as a surfing extra and then a movie part and endorsements. The girls are off on their own and soon Carol behind.

We get to learn how Carol became so obsessed with surfing and how her life has not exactly turned out how she thought it would be. She was a star athlete and was going to try out for the all girls baseball team until she became pregnant and had to get married. Her life was no longer her own and she found solace in the ocean. However, her husband returns from war and she soon finds herself pregnant again. As the girls grow so does her need for the ocean. She finally pushes her girls was away after a surfing contest in Hawaii.

Mindy truly kept this family together. After ruining her reputation by being photographed with a Jimmy, a boy of Hawaiian decent, that was classified as black man, she is forced to let him go to save her career. However, it was too late. In an attempt to savage something she goes on a USO tour to Vietnam. There she find Jimmy and they reconnect. Once she leave Vietnam, Jimmy will be home in six or so months time. This is where life make a turn. Ginger shows up at Mindy's door with a baby and asks Mindy to raise it. They take the baby to their mother and find she has Parkinson's. Now Mindy must raise Ginger's daughter and help her ailing mother.

Mindy's strength and endurance is truly inspirational. She was the mother her own mother never was and in caring for her ailing mother builds a relationship with her mom that heals the both of them. Ginger is on her own path with Tom but I feel she finally finds herself by the end of the novel.

I highly recommend this book!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Delacorte Press for the ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.