Today I'm going to be talking about one of my favorite books I've read this year, 'California Golden' by Melanie Benjamin. I often gravitate towards the summer beach reads and I would definitely put this book under that category. But don't let that fool you! This book has a lot of interesting social themes that will truly challenge you and make you think. California Golden is a historical fiction book that takes place in the 1960s that, you guessed it, is set in California.
The book revolves around the early days of surf culture and follows the Donnelly girls, Carol the mother, Mindy the older sister, and Ginger the younger sister.
The mother Carol defies gender stereotypes and rises to fame as a star surfer in the male dominated sport. As she is becoming more popular, the sisters are left to fend for themselves. To grow closer to their mother, Mindy and Ginger devise a plan to ditch school and learn to ride the waves with their mom. As Mindy begins to excel at surfing, Ginger finds herself fearful of the open waters and not very talented on the board. As each of the girls grow, Mindy the older sister becomes a surfing star and becomes part of the Hollywood movie scene to show off her surf skills. While Mindy is in the spotlight, Ginger struggles. Trying to find her place Ginger gets involved with drugs and cults in search of a community.
Each sister takes a very different path.
While reading this book, you get a perspective of every different side of California from the fame and clubs to the manipulation and drug use. California is the main setting of this book but there's also glimpses of Hawaii for surf competitions and Vietnam as Mindy takes part in the USO tour.
California Golden looks at motherhood and what was expected of a mother during the 60s. It also looks into sisterhood Even though the sisters grew up in the same environment, they took different turns in life. They struggled and excelled to support each other in their decisions. This book explores how a mother's impact can determine how her children may look at the world. The older sister, Mindy, became a mother figure to her younger sister, Ginger. Mindy was independent and fierce while Ginger was self-conscious and dependent on a man.
With the themes of motherhood and sisterhood, the book also looks at sexism, abuse, racism, drug use, neglect, and second chances. These themes are successfully tied in all together with surf culture. This book will make you feel so many things towards these characters. You will empathize with them, be extremely annoyed at them and you'll even smile as they meet their accomplishments. I loved this book and could no put it down and I finished it in a flash even though I never wanted it to end. While reading I also dreamed of being a Cali girl surfing with the Donnelly girls.
