A review by oceanwriter
California Golden by Melanie Benjamin

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

One glance at this book and I was sold on the summer vibes. The vibes delivered. As for the story itself, I was left with mixed feelings. 
 
California sisters Mindy and Ginger are more or less left to raise themselves. Their father leaves them at a young age with their mother, who, up until then, had spent years floating in and out of their lives. 
 
Mindy and Ginger’s lives are unconventional, practically living in their swimsuits and eventually joining their mother on the beach and learning to surf. Mindy embraces this lifestyle for a while. Ginger, on the other hand, never felt she belonged. 
 
I loved the mother/daughter themes of the book and I liked how character-driven it all was, but it felt like it was trying to fit as many 1960s cliches in as possible with a plot woven around those. It felt choppy with little direction. A lot was enjoyable, I just felt like I was fumbling along. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings