California Golden: An Evening with Melanie Benjamin

The Book Stall is excited to partner with the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District to host acclaimed author Melanie Benjamin at the store on Thursday, September 28 at 6:30 pm for a discussion about her new novel, California Golden, a gripping, emotional story set at a time when mothers were expected to be Donna Reed, not Gidget. Two sisters navigate the turbulent, euphoric early days of California surf culture in this dazzling saga of ambition, sacrifice, and longing, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Children’s Blizzard.

This event is free with registration, to register, please visit our website.

More About the Book: Southern California, 1960s: endless sunny days surfing in Malibu, followed by glittering neon nights at Whisky A-Go-Go. In an era when women are expected to be housewives, Carol Donnelly is breaking the mold as a legendary female surfer struggling to compete in a male-dominated sport, and her daughters, Mindy and Ginger, bear the weight of her unconventional lifestyle. The Donnelly sisters grow up enduring their mother’s absence, physically, when she’s at the beach, and emotionally, the rare times she’s at home. To escape questions about Carol’s whereabouts, and chase their mom’s elusive affection, they cut school to spend their days in the surf. From her first time on a board, Mindy shows a natural talent, but Ginger, two years younger, feels out of place in the water.

As they grow up and their lives diverge, Mindy and Ginger’s relationship ebbs and flows. Mindy finds herself swept up in celebrity, complete with beachside love affairs, parties at the Playboy Club, and USO tours to Vietnam. Meanwhile, Ginger, desperate for a community of her own, is tugged into the vibrant counterculture of drugs and cults. Through it all, their sense of duty to each other survives, as the girls are forever connected by the emotional damage they carry from their unorthodox childhood.

Shelby Van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures says, “California Golden left me breathless. Against the shimmering backdrop of California’s burgeoning surf culture, Melanie Benjamin explores the bonds of sisterhood and motherhood in an era where society, and its expectations of women, are ever changing. The Donnelly women, perfect in their imperfections, will stay with you long after the last page.”

More About the Author: Melanie Benjamin is a prize-winning novelist and the New York Times bestselling author of The Children’s Blizzard, Mistress of the Ritz, The Girls in the Picture, The Swans of Fifth Avenue, The Aviator’s Wife, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, and Alice I Have Been. Ms. Benjamin lives in Chicago.