California Golden

California Golden by Melanie Benjamin 352pages

 

I’m not much of an outdoorsy person. In fact, I rather loathe it.  Bu that doesn’t stop me from reading about the great outdoors.  I would like to hang ten and try surfing, but like I just said…and without my glasses/contacts I couldn’t even see the darn wave.

 

Most of the time, when I hear “great outdoors,” I think woods and insects. The critters I can handle, but not those pesky insects. However, in Melanie Benjamin’s newest novel, the great outdoors refers to the surfs and sand of California and Hawaii. Benjamin’s description of the waves, the sun, and the freedom one feels in the water is unparalleled. I felt as if I was there.

 

Carol Donnelly is one of the first female competitive surfers in the sport. She is a marvel to behold on board. But Carol is trapped in 1950s- ‘60s societal expectations of marriage and motherhood, and she resents her children for it.  Her daughters, Mindy and Ginger drop out of school to partake in the surf culture and, sadly, to gain their mother’s attention.

 

Carol teaches her daughters to surf. Mindy is a natural while Ginger can barely hang onto the board. When Mindy wins a competition in California, Carol seethes with resentment. And to top it off, Minday gets work as an extra in the surfing movies that were so back then. Mindy first gains notoriety as the Girl with the Curl. The 1960s come alive when Mindy goes to Whiskey A-Go-Go and is seen at all the LA hotspots.

 

She finds love with a Hawaiian surfer. But with Vietnam escalating, the pair breaks it off. It is only when Mindy is on a USO tour in ‘Nam, does love return in a rather unexpected way.

 

Meanwhile, Ginger falls in love with an abusive surf bum. Author Benjamin creates the life of authentic beach bums, unlike the glamorous life portrayed in the movies. Unwashed and malnourished and high isn’t the life Ginger had dreamed of as a little girl, but she loves Tom with every fiber of her body and mind.

 

Readers don’t know much about Carol after she loses the competition. She had an accident which forced her retirement from surfing and eventually was the root cause of her Parkinson’s Disease (I’m not sure how a head injury could cause Parkinson’s, but what do I know.).

 

Reader’s journey through the two very different lifestyles of each sister. However, an unexpected pregnancy causes major strife and happiness with the family.

 

California Golden is different than most of Benajmin’s wonderful books. While most of her novels are character driven, this didn’t have a strong plot. California Golden receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Black Candle Women

Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown 368 pages

This novel was nothing like I expected. I expected a dual narrative, lots of voodoo/hoodoo/black magic and more New Orleans. Of course those expectations were based on one sentence at the end of the back over synopsis.

Thankfully, I wasn’t totally disappointed with the linear narrative, Black family life, generational trauma and a decades-old curse novel that I ended up reading.

Augusta Montrose fled New Orleans with her granddaughters after her spiritual mentor put a curse on the women in her family in the 1950s. Now it is current time. The curse has come true for Augusta and her oldest granddaughter, Victoria. The younger granddaughter, Willow, has managed to avoid it, but her life is spiraling towards it. Even Victoria’s great-granddaughter, seventeen-year-old Nickie is even barreling toward heartbreak and tears.

Although Victoria is not a licensed therapist, she runs a successful business out of their basement, using her special gift: being able to read people and talk with them through their troubles. She is highly respected in her African-American community. Her sister, Willow, has a side hustle going on that is steeped in the potions and powders she can make for the book of spells that Augusta brought from New Orleans.

Nickie is aware of the curse but does not feel that will be affect her. It is only after she is abandoned in a nearby hotel that Nickie comes to understand the consequences.

This story moved slowly. It just did not engage me as much as I thought it would based on the cover and synopsis. “Black Candle Women” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Child's Play: A Novel

Child's Play:  A Novel by Daniel Steele   336 pages

A fun read.   Kate Morgan feels she has raised her children well they are grown and all successes in their own right.   O.K. her youngest daughter is suddenly going through this snippy phase where she treats her mother like a slug, but, surely she will grow out of it - she is in her 20s and just grappling with life and acting out and taking it out on her Mom.   Everybody blames the Mom for their woes, right?  Kate shrugs it off even though her feelings are hurt at times.  Surely, it will pass she thinks.   Then there is her oldest daughter - darn!  She is so great if only she could find someone to love who is just as great as she is.  Kate hates to think of her daughter burying her nose in her work to the point of missing out on the joys in life.  Or is she?   The things that can get past a parent...Then there is her son, betrothed to the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the U.S.  Kate is so proud of that union.  WOW!   Who would have thought her computer geek son who designs games for a living and does really well at it mind you would have snagged the attention of the most famous socialite daughter and was now well on their way to the altar.  The invitations have been sent, the venue booked, flowers, food, cake all paid for and the dress...oh, the dress is magnificent.    And they are so happy.   Again,  the things that can get past a parent...Good story, great characters, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I recommend it to all for a fun holiday read or read for the new year.

The Other Mother

The Other Mother by Carol Goodman  335 pages

Okay. I'm going to do my best to summarize this book, although it's one of those twisty stories, complete with an unreliable (or is she actually reliable) narrator. Daphne Marist, along with her infant daughter Chloe, are starting their lives over. Having used fake credentials and an assumed name, she has secured a live-in position as an archivist to an author who lives next to the grounds of an asylum. As the story continues, we discover that Daphne has tried to be a good mother but from the beginning, has been plagued with self-doubt and dark moods. When she's diagnosed with Post-Partum Mood Disorder, her husband suggests a local mother's group --- where Daphne meets Laurel. Laurel is everything Daphne isn't: smooth, sophisticated, and totally on top of the new mother thing.  Or is she? Anyway, Laurel's daughter is also named Chloe. And as Daphne and Laurel start to mirror each other, the story is off and running . . . in a totally crazy direction. 

It's very difficult most of the time to know if Daphne is telling the truth, if she is who she says she is, if we can believe her version of what happened, etc. This lends a completely off-kilter effect to the story, which, combined with the steadily increasing pace and sense of danger, made for a compelling read.  Aforementioned mental hospital does (of course) come into play here, lending an ominous tone to the story. By the time I was reaching the climax of the story, I wasn't sure who was who or what was what, but I was completely hooked. 

And now we have everything

And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready by Meaghan O'Connell   240 pages

"Meaghan O'Connell always felt totally alienated by the cutesy, sanctimonious, sentimental tone of most writing about motherhood. After getting accidentally pregnant in her twenties, she realized that the book she needed--a brutally honest, agenda-less take on the emotional and existential impact of motherhood--didn't exist. So she decided to write it herself."

I honestly don't remember why I put a hold on this book. It was an okay read, but I must have read a synopsis somewhere and thought it would be . . interesting? funny?  I'm not sure.  I thought it was an okay book but not great.  I don't have an experience like O'Connell's, so while this book gave me insight into her life, I didn't feel like I could identify with her at all (either before or after she had her baby).  What was interesting to read was how honest O'Connell is about her experience in the delivery room, and also about how so many young mothers feel a push to make "mom friends," and other things that aren't covered in "What to expect when you're expecting."

City Mouse

City Mouse by Stacey Lender   309 pages

Unable to afford to live in Manhattan, Jessica and Aaron relocate to the suburbs with their young daughters. Although Jessica was loathe to make to move, “life in the commuter belt” is not the miserable existence she expected. Neighbors quickly befriend the family and welcome them into the clique of approved acquaintances. The ensuing endless get-togethers and activities are just as exhausting as the ‘keeping up with Jones’ lifestyle for Jessica and Aaron. Not only can the couple barely make ends meet, but Jessica is the sole working mother among this new group of friends, and feels that additional disconnect and isolation in her new life. The story ultimately reiterates the age-old moral that the grass is not always greener on the other side, and what we perceive as ideal is generally the fantasy we choose to believe. Eventually, facades deteriorate, truths are exposed, and Jessica and Aaron must determine if living among these people reflects who they are and the life they want to live.

Where they Found Her

Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight
326 Pages

"At the end of a long winter in well-to-do Ridgedale, New Jersey, the body of an infant is discovered in the woods near the town's prestigious university campus. No one knows who the baby is, or how her body ended up out there. But there is no shortage of opinions. When freelance journalist, and recent Ridgedale transplant, Molly Anderson is unexpectedly called upon to cover the story for the Ridgedale Reader, it's a risk, given the severe depression that followed the loss of her own baby. But the bigger threat comes when Molly unearths some of Ridgedale's darkest secrets, including a string of unreported sexual assaults going back twenty years. Meanwhile, Sandy, a high school dropout, searches for her volatile and now missing mother, and PTA president Barbara struggles to help her young son, who's suddenly having disturbing outbursts. Told from the perspectives of Molly, Barbara, and Sandy, Kimberly McCreight's taut and profoundly moving novel unwinds the tangled truth about the baby's death, revealing that these three women have far more in common than they realized. That the very worst crimes are committed against those we love. And that--sooner or later--the past catches up to all of us."

A pretty good story with some red herrings to keep you in suspense until the end.