This was enjoyable; it was different from historical fiction I've read before in that it wasn't based off of a specific person from history but I still enjoyed the surf culture. I liked the family dynamic between the characters and I was anxious to see how it ended.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

It is the 1960’s in Southern California, where Carol Donnelly is not following the normal expectations of women.. Carol doesn’t care about being a mother to her children. She only wants to be on the ocean surfing. When her husband leaves, the two sisters are left alone. Mindy and Ginger are often wearing dirty clothes among other things. They learn to survive their mother’s “abandonment. Mindy becomes quite good at surfing and eventually becomes better than her mother. Ginger is somewhat timid and not interested in surfing. The two sisters go on their own paths. For Ginger, it means ending up with a man that tells her he is God. She eventually goes to join a cult. Mindy ends up playing minor roles in surfing movies. Through all this the sisters have gone their separate ways, there is the sense of duty to each other. The sister have had an unorthodox childhood which gives them a forever connection.

The author has written an emotional, comprlling novel that shows how women were breaking the normal housewife life. It is a novel that kept me glued to the pages wondering what was going to happen to Mindy and Ginger’s lives.

This book really placed me in the 1960s! The tension between the dysfunctional family members kept the story moving along. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Maybe it's the cover, maybe it's mentioning California...whatever it was, I was initially into this one because it gave me Malibu Rising (by Taylor Jenkins Reid) vibes. While the flavor was certainly there (1960’s surf culture, family dysfunction, and strong women) it also felt a little slower. It may have landed differently had I read it during summer...I could totally see how the SoCal vibes would have wrapped up the season perfectly. A great summer read!

I love a novel with complex family dynamics, and this novel delivered. For me, this book started slow, but began to pick up the pace toward the middle. Solid four stars!

Unfortunately I had to DNF this one shortly into it.

I hoping to come back to it at a later time and really sink myself into this world.

Thanks to Random House, Ballentine, and NetGalley for this advanced copy.

How have I been missing Melanie Benjamin's books? California Golden was an interesting tale of three women all trying to figure out their lives and what worked for them while living in and around California's surfing culture in the 60s. I loved how Benjamin gives us this story from each woman's point of view, never really judging them for their decisions. I appreciated that while the book was really about California surf culture, she made sure to connect it to Hawaii, where it originated.

I have a lot of different feelings about the women in this book, and I didn't always understand their choices, but they were individuals through and through and maybe even family? I can't say that I completely understood Mindy's decisions towards the later half of the book, they almost come off as way to responsible for the character, but maybe its growth?

Regardless, this was a nice novel and I would happily read anything by the author.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC! I am a SoCal girly, and was so excited to be given this opportunity!

I think this story was right on the cusp of being great. There were certainly good parts throughout, and I think the author's knowledge of the 1960s shined so brightly and added an authentic layer that was needed. I thought the overall story and plot was unique and so interesting to read. The reason I think this was on the cusp of greatness was the fact that the predictability of the story was high and the characters were a little flat. Other than that, though, I thought it was a really interesting read.

Well this wasn’t as successful as I would have liked. I think I was expecting something along the lines of Malibu Rising or Mary Jane, which this wasn’t. California Golden was more character driven, and I didn’t gel with either of the MCs. It was fine.

I really loved the California surfer vibes of this one. Put on a Beach Boys album and you get the vibes of this book! I totally loved the atmosphere. I didn’t love the mom, but this was a great emotional family drama. Plus, look at this cover! It’s perfect!
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Thank you @tandomhouse and @netgallay for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

This was interesting but I didn't connect with it as much as I'd hoped I would. This is great for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and Firefly Lane.

I really enjoyed California Golden! It’s a historical fiction that takes place in the 60s in California. The story follows a family of surfers. I enjoyed the family drama and learning more about the surf culture/overall culture of California in the 60s.

My only complaint is the ending. It left me confused.

Make sure you read the author’s note at the end. It adds so much to the story and made me appreciate it even more.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House-Ballantine for a copy of California Golden in exchange of an honest review.

This book takes you back to the carefree days of the 1960s, when everyone was California dreaming of beach parties with bonfires and surfing. This included Carol Donnelly who gave up being an adoring housewife and mom to spend all of her time at the beach surfing. She quickly became an all star surfer winning competition after competition. Her
daughters Mindy and Ginger missed their mom so they decided since she wasn't going to Ieave the beach for them they would join her at the beach. Mindy quickly caught on to surfing but Ginger couldn't quite get the hang of it. They spent most of their time at the beach and eventually quit high school so that they could spend all their time there. They had to grow up quick and yet their mom never seemed to grow up, always putting her love of surfing in front of her children's needs.
This story follows the Donnelly women as they navigate through the tough decisions in life during the 1960s. As their paths go separate ways they each find themselves in predicaments that they never imagined when they dreamed of living the freestyle life in sun and surf.
A true coming of age storyline that keeps you interested from beginning to end. Told flawlessly through multiple points of view through past and present storylines we learn how these women grew up and why they are where they are at today. They each have happiness, heartbreak, and struggles throughout their lives but it's how they forgive that means the most in the end.
If you enjoy historical fiction that takes place in the 1960s then this is a book you should read. It would be likely enjoyed by those that liked the book Daisy Jones and The Six.
I am grateful to Delacort Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this well written historical fiction in exchange for an honest review.

It’s the 1960s in Southern California when the surfing community is growing in popularity. A time when women were expected to be good little housewives. Sisters Mindy and Ginger Donnelly are raising themselves because their absent mother Carol is ensconced in the world of surfing and their father has left them. In order to get their mother’s attention they begin to skip school and enter into their mother’s world of surfing on Malibu Beach. Mindy is a born athlete but younger sister Ginger is uncomfortable in the water and needs Mindy’s help. As Mindy and Ginger begin to mature into adulthood each girl chooses a different path to finding her way to being accepted and to come to terms about who she truly wants to be.
This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

California Golden tells the story of a mother and her daughters as the times they were a changing in California. I enjoyed this book more in the concept than in the execution. It may have something to do with the fact that I struggled to like the main characters. It's not a bad book but just wasn't my favorite.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of California Golden in exchange for an honest review. California Golden is available now.

Not for me. Slow and dragging. I could not finish it. I made it about 75% through. I really wanted to love it so I’m quite bummed.

I don’t know how I felt about it. It gave me Malibu Rising vibes but didn’t quite hit the spot for me.

3.5 stars

Three part book; the sisters, Mindy and Ginger, growing up struggling with an absent mom and taking two very different paths in life to find purpose and love; their mother growing up and getting pregnant with daughters she didn't want and a life that felt like a trap; 1980 the conclusion of sorts of their lives settling.
I didn't love the middle section about Carol, the mother's, story. It did show some insight to why she treated them how she did, having to give up her dreams. But it felt a little unnecessary because we already saw her actions and indifference toward her daughters and they were how she truly felt. It didn't entice me to have any sympathy toward her.
The ending jump ahead about 15 years and the resolution is seen but still with some information of what happened throughout those years felt left out.

I liked the look back in time and the different views of surfing as the years passed. I was entertained by the descriptions, the flow of the years, the different locations the story was set in. I didn't feel connected to any of the women or honestly like them. The sisters both take frustrating paths. One with an abusive man and drugs, not leaving craving love so badly. The other craving stability financially and almost losing love because of it.

This is another wonderful read from Melanie Benjamin. I found it to be a powerful story with a strong emotional tug on the heartstrings, particularly if you are a mother or daughter. The book highlights some of the conflicts of a woman in the 50's, 60's and 70's. This was a period of change for the entire nation, but none so much as for women. These challenges are highlighted in the story of Carol and her daughters, Mindy and Ginger. They each struggled for their place in the world whether as an independent and free-spirit, a daughter trapped into adulting while still a child, or a little girl whose only desire was for love and who was willing to sacrifice herself to that end. The sport of surfing was the tie that originally connected the mother and the girls. Eventually they all go their individual ways, yet the emotional bonds that connect a family are not easy to severe.
I really enjoyed this book and the very real way the story unfolded. The author uses varying perspectives and time eras to showcase the characters and unfold the plot. It was compelling, frustrating at times, but ultimately redemptive. Real life is messy, and the Donnelly women's story certainly proves that to be true.
I recommend this book to readers who have previously enjoyed Melanie Benjamin's books. It is a unique take on historic fiction that encompasses a special era and some of the effects of the changing views of women at this time while incorporating the rise of competitive surfing for women.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

California Golden by Melanie Benjamin was EXCELLENT! Such great characters, set in the early days of surfing in the California waves, a mother and her two daughters, bearing heavy burdens of a very dysfunctional childhood and the ambition to be the best surfers they can be. Sisterly love, insecurities, abandonment, chauvinism and girl power laced into this book in a most fabulous way. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own.