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Camino Beach
In this poignant debut loaded with humor, heartbreak, and Southern charm, old friends road-trip their way to solving a mystery and righting a long-ago wrong.
Sarah Martin had every intention of skipping her high school reunion. Once a popular girl and valedictorian, she’s now pushing forty, divorced, and running a small bookstore in Nashville—not exactly an impressive life. But Sarah’s best friend, Kristen, won’t take no for an answer, and she won’t let them return to Briley High without Roxanne, the missing third in their senior-high trio.
The beautiful and wild Roxanne—who listened to eighties rocker chicks, let anyone kiss her at parties, and dragged Sarah into plenty of trouble—disappeared just weeks before graduation. But Sarah’s not so sure she wants to track her down. She knows Roxanne’s departure was likely because of a betrayal—hers.
Along with their pal Jack, Sarah and Kristen embark on a quest in a beat-up old El Camino, once the center of their spring-break dreams, in search of Roxanne. But the road ahead is full of surprises that will force the friends to confront their pasts and consider the paths they’ve chosen—and the ones still waiting to be explored.
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 16, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
July 9, 2017
When their high school reunion, for twenty years, is coming up Sarah and Kristen decide to search for their missing best friend Roxanne. A month before they were set to graduate Roxanne disappeared and at the time they couldn't get her mother to tell them where. All they were told was that she went to a boarding school but when they looked and called up the one nearby they came up empty handed. Kristen feels guilty for not trying harder and hires a PI to find her, getting an address and convinces Sarah to go on a road trip with her there. Sarah meanwhile feels guilty for what happened years ago and feels responsible for Roxanne's disappearance. The two decide to buy an El Camino like Roxanne drove in high school and set out to drive down and find her. Jack, Sarah's best friend and neighbor who also went to high school with them accompanies them in their, mostly supervising to make sure they don't get in to much trouble.
I did enjoy the book a lot, I was kind of at 3.5 and somewhat wanted to round up to four but not there completely for some reason. The plot line was cute but I guess I just felt underwhelmed by their whole search for her and the whole idea of an El Camino filled with sand. Also it just seemed a little ridiculous that it's been twenty years and they're still hung up on their friend, especially Sarah. I don't think she had a lot of choices in the position she was in and in the end it didn't matter anyway did it, so it was just kind of a let down. I enjoyed the writing though and the characters, it would have been so easy to hate Sarah but I think the author did a good job of making her likable and sympathetic even with her faults. It was a fun read with a happy ending, definitely a good summer beach book.
I did enjoy the book a lot, I was kind of at 3.5 and somewhat wanted to round up to four but not there completely for some reason. The plot line was cute but I guess I just felt underwhelmed by their whole search for her and the whole idea of an El Camino filled with sand. Also it just seemed a little ridiculous that it's been twenty years and they're still hung up on their friend, especially Sarah. I don't think she had a lot of choices in the position she was in and in the end it didn't matter anyway did it, so it was just kind of a let down. I enjoyed the writing though and the characters, it would have been so easy to hate Sarah but I think the author did a good job of making her likable and sympathetic even with her faults. It was a fun read with a happy ending, definitely a good summer beach book.
July 20, 2017
Did someone say free book? I got this one as a "read now" book on NetGalley after a friend nominated it for a group read. Not my usual fare (chick lit) and an easy read, I knocked it off in no time.
3 friends in high school that are inseparable are torn apart when one member of the team just disappears overnight, not to be heard from again. The other two maintain a great relationship (I have not had this kind of consistency with anyone from high school myself) and when it comes time to celebrate their 20th high school reunion they go off in search of their lost friend to see if she will come to the reunion so that they can re-live old times.
People change though, but deep down, there is a "you" that is inflexible and resistant to change and I think that this is what that author is trying to dig deeper into. Essentially, I am who I was in high school, no matter how I deny it LOL, my core self is unchanged.
3 friends in high school that are inseparable are torn apart when one member of the team just disappears overnight, not to be heard from again. The other two maintain a great relationship (I have not had this kind of consistency with anyone from high school myself) and when it comes time to celebrate their 20th high school reunion they go off in search of their lost friend to see if she will come to the reunion so that they can re-live old times.
People change though, but deep down, there is a "you" that is inflexible and resistant to change and I think that this is what that author is trying to dig deeper into. Essentially, I am who I was in high school, no matter how I deny it LOL, my core self is unchanged.
May 26, 2017
Hey, do you want to read a book full of absolutely repulsive characters who have absolutely no conscience or self-awareness? Well, have I got the book for you.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review. This review will contain spoilers.
Also, this isn't a positive review.
TRIGGER WARNING: This book contains the sexual assault of a teenager by a teacher. It is treated like said teenager "cheating" on his girlfriend. It never acknowledges that he was sexually abused by a teacher in a position of power.
In 1997, Sarah and Kristen were just two absolutely awful teenage girls in Nashville, TN. They graduated high school, went on to college, graduated, and went onto equally disappointing lives: Sarah is divorced, lives in an apartment above the bookstore she owns, and routinely treats her next door neighbor/former classmate/best friend, Jack, like absolutely crap; on the opposite end of the spectrum, Kristen is a tiny, blonde former gymnast who married a big ol' slob named Chris (THEY ARE BOTH NAMED KRIS/CHRIS) and has three anonymous children that she never talks about except to complain about them. She works some kind of job, but otherwise, buys Jimmy Choos, lives in a McMansion, and drives a Rover.
Cool. These women seem fun.
In high school, there was a third friend, Roxanne, the only likeable one in the bunch. Roxanne was impulsive, self-destructive, and, most of all, fun. However, she disappeared before they graduated and while they did call local boarding schools after her mom (their gym teacher, inexplicably) told them she was sent to boarding school, they didn't do much to find her.
Except when their 20 year high school reunion rolls around.
Kristen decides it's time to bite the bullet and find Roxanne. Sarah, our primary narrator, is nervous because she did something "awful" that she is sure is the cause of Roxanne's disappearance. They go on a saga to buy an El Camino (an awful car that Roxanne inexplicably bought and that broke down on a spring break trip). This takes up approximately 1/3 of the book and is exceptionally boring. They buy an El Camino named Elvira and make continual references to the fact that they're sure it will break down. It's like they have no concept of how heart 70s and 80s era cars are--and considering the fact that Elvira was completely redone by a car buff, the car would be in absolute pristine condition. So they're jerks for that because it's exhausting.
Jack decides to join them for the trip to Myrtle Beach, after Kristen's private investigator turns up an address for Roxanne there. We are treated to multiple unpleasant scenes were Sarah is an absolute nightmare of a human to her ex-husband.
Ok, slight diversion from going over the plot: Sarah got divorced because... reasons? It's never fully explained, which is fine, but she treats her ex like ABSOLUTE GARBAGE. Sarah is a garbage person. There, I said it. Take this character and throw her away; she is a self-centered, obnoxious, mean, vile human being. There is NOTHING redeemable about Sarah as a character. I do not understand why she has friends or why she received this characterization. She sucks. She divorced her husband because he was slightly resistant to her taking out a loan to buy a bookstore. Listen, do you know how much of a struggle it is to own an independent bookstore? It is NOT easy. But this book apparently takes place in an alternate reality where people go to bookstores all the time. Whatever. In reality, Sarah's dumb little store would have already failed, which would be karma for treating her husband (who they make fun of for being a professor? despite the fact that Sarah is so romantic about her own undergraduate experience?) like absolute crap.
Anyway.
They head for Myrtle Beach. Apparently, they do zero preparations for this and end up stopping at Sarah's college town, where they go to her favorite place to eat. She orders a sandwich (and the author expects us to know what this sandwich is but never explains it). Then, Kristen goes to an art show and proceeds to completely destroy a student's art project. What pieces of human garbage. Goddamn, I hate both of them so much.
They get to Myrtle Beach and find a hotel that is $60 a night, but also has a bar beside the pool. Ok, that makes sense. There is an awful scene where Jack's swimsuit gets sucked into the jacuzzi jets. It's really stupid and serves no purpose to the plot. It's actually awful. All of these people are awful. Kristen is the worst, but her and Sarah honestly duke it out to be seen as the absolute worst of all human beings ever.
The next morning, they surprise drop into Roxanne's address. Surprise, it's not Roxanne. It's her mom, Mrs. Wilder, their mean ass gym teacher. She has no idea where Roxanne, but Kristen acts like a big dick the entire time and they judge her medications in the bathroom. Cool! They leave, meet Jack's college roommate Bert for margaritas, get drunk in a Mexican restaurant, and then they all get into a massive fight.
Then, they go home.
This is the part of the novel where I stopped caring. It was so anticlimactic. They go home. Kristen gets a bug in her ass to go check school records; they do and guess what? The school has all their school records. Listen, my husband is a teacher; so is my sister. HIGH SCHOOLS DO NOT KEEP YOUR RECORDS PAST A CERTAIN NUMBER OF YEARS. It's so exhausting to have this scene. As if there is some giant room in every public school where they keep every piece of banal information about every kid that ever stepped in the building. Yawn.
Anyway, they end up finding a sticky note on the back of Roxanne's file with the number of a school that's in, you guessed it, Sarah's college town. They do some research and go. They find Roxanne. She's perfectly normal, living in a nice little house with her daughter, also named Sarah (WHO KNOWS WHY, Sarah sucks so bad). She is pleasant and happy, but she's not the Roxanne they know.
Ok, throughout all these scenes, we get treated to scenes from high school Sarah. HS Sarah is somehow 400x worse than present day Sarah; she is boring, mean, and absolutely obsessed with herself. So, the entire novel I thought the bad thing she did to Roxanne would be huge: she ratted out Roxanne about drugs or she actually murdered her or SOMETHING. No. She signed a statement saying that Roxanne had been cheating on her to avoid getting her scholarship taken away.
I'm sorry, but that's not awful. That's barely even bad. That's literally what every stupid teenager would do if they were caught to be helping their friend cheat. Roxanne had been cheating off Sarah; Sarah admitted it; fucking and...?
Anyway, in their meeting with Roxanne, it turns out that's NOT why Roxanne left school. She left because her mom had been fucking teenagers at the school and had been messing around with Roxanne's boyfriend. So the principal helped her transfer schools and GTFO. Cool for Roxanne. She met her current husband, got pregnant, got married. She chilled. Never once does anyone say, "Holy shit, your mom raped your boyfriend!? Your mom sexually assaulted and abused him?" No, they act like her boyfriend Mark cheated on her. THESE PEOPLE ARE ALL GARBAGE.
So, after all that time, the bad thing Sarah did didn't even matter. It's NOT EVEN PART OF THE PLOT because it's so impossibly small and stupid.
Kristen and Sarah leave. (as they leave, Sarah asks about Roxanne's daughter's name and Roxanne basically says that her daughter is named after her grandma. LOL)
Because Sarah is obsessed with her stupid self, she goes to visit the former principal to ask WHY he made her sign that statement (um, because they were busting Roxanne, rightfully, for cheating?). The principal basically says it literally never mattered, he just did it to make a point, and that it's ok because all teenagers do selfish stuff. No kidding, the principal, even though we're supposed to see him as some kind of delusional mean guy, is the only intelligent character in this dumb book; he looks Sarah dead in the face and is like, "people usually grow out of being so selfish, but whatever, you seem like a piece of shit." LMAO, fuck her up, dude!
Sarah feels enlightened and goes to Kristen's house. Kristen had spent tons of time complaining about her husband, who is a piece of crap, very stereotypical man; however, when Sarah brings up this past conversation in relation to her talk with the principal, Kristen acts like Sarah is accusing her of something. Listen, Kristen, I know you're a few slices short of a whole pie, but follow along. Kristen ends up getting a new showerhead and is suddenly in a better mood, proving that she's an absolutely repulsive, stupid character and Sarah isn't much better. Ugh. This dumb book.
So Sarah leaves, feeling pretty low. She calls Bert to ask him to go to the reunion with her (do people... take dates to reunions? That's like not the point? It's not a prom) and he says no, because Jack made it clear he likes Sarah. This is a fact that is SO OBVIOUS through the book I almost wanted to set it on fire. God, Jack is a pushover and while he is pretty obnoxious, he deserves better than Sarah, a woman who literally never thinks of ANYONE but herself.
So Sarah goes to the reunion with Jack and proceeds to get schwasted within, like, 5 minutes? Then Mark, Roxanne's high school boyfriend who was sexually assaulted by a teacher and his girlfriend's mom, comes up and asks about Roxanne. Sarah, who is awful, acts belligerent and causes a scene; then Jack punches a man who was sexually assaulted as a teenager and they act like he's a hero. COOL.
Kristen and Roxanne then bust into prom, dressed to the nines. They all go outside and make the real Camino Beach and get even more schwasted in the back of it, chatting. Roxanne talks about her life and is more honest about it. It turns out, Roxanne did name her daughter after Sarah (WHY) and apparently had watched Sarah a few times while she was at college because she literally lived in the same town. This is proof that Sarah is totally self-absorbed; Roxanne had been in that sandwich place once while Sarah was there and SARAH DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE. This girl you think you've ruined because of some dumb cheating statement and you literally don't recognize her. Sarah, you are awful.
They then proceed to treat Mark, a sexual assault victim, like shit and then go to a bar again. Jack confesses that, actually, he really likes Sarah. And Sarah is like cool. They kiss. It's totally inexplicable why Jack (I just realized maybe his name is John? I honestly do not remember) likes her because, again, Sarah is an absolute garbage can of a human being.
The book ends. It is absolutely obnoxious to read and absolute waste of time. If you want to read a book about the most self-absorbed awful people in the entire universe, go ahead. Read it. I have no idea why it was written. A bunch of boring, mean white women going on an adventure to find the friend they treated like crap 20 years ago. Nothing redeemable. Nothing to learn. Awful people not getting their comeuppance. Sigh.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review. This review will contain spoilers.
Also, this isn't a positive review.
TRIGGER WARNING: This book contains the sexual assault of a teenager by a teacher. It is treated like said teenager "cheating" on his girlfriend. It never acknowledges that he was sexually abused by a teacher in a position of power.
In 1997, Sarah and Kristen were just two absolutely awful teenage girls in Nashville, TN. They graduated high school, went on to college, graduated, and went onto equally disappointing lives: Sarah is divorced, lives in an apartment above the bookstore she owns, and routinely treats her next door neighbor/former classmate/best friend, Jack, like absolutely crap; on the opposite end of the spectrum, Kristen is a tiny, blonde former gymnast who married a big ol' slob named Chris (THEY ARE BOTH NAMED KRIS/CHRIS) and has three anonymous children that she never talks about except to complain about them. She works some kind of job, but otherwise, buys Jimmy Choos, lives in a McMansion, and drives a Rover.
Cool. These women seem fun.
In high school, there was a third friend, Roxanne, the only likeable one in the bunch. Roxanne was impulsive, self-destructive, and, most of all, fun. However, she disappeared before they graduated and while they did call local boarding schools after her mom (their gym teacher, inexplicably) told them she was sent to boarding school, they didn't do much to find her.
Except when their 20 year high school reunion rolls around.
Kristen decides it's time to bite the bullet and find Roxanne. Sarah, our primary narrator, is nervous because she did something "awful" that she is sure is the cause of Roxanne's disappearance. They go on a saga to buy an El Camino (an awful car that Roxanne inexplicably bought and that broke down on a spring break trip). This takes up approximately 1/3 of the book and is exceptionally boring. They buy an El Camino named Elvira and make continual references to the fact that they're sure it will break down. It's like they have no concept of how heart 70s and 80s era cars are--and considering the fact that Elvira was completely redone by a car buff, the car would be in absolute pristine condition. So they're jerks for that because it's exhausting.
Jack decides to join them for the trip to Myrtle Beach, after Kristen's private investigator turns up an address for Roxanne there. We are treated to multiple unpleasant scenes were Sarah is an absolute nightmare of a human to her ex-husband.
Ok, slight diversion from going over the plot: Sarah got divorced because... reasons? It's never fully explained, which is fine, but she treats her ex like ABSOLUTE GARBAGE. Sarah is a garbage person. There, I said it. Take this character and throw her away; she is a self-centered, obnoxious, mean, vile human being. There is NOTHING redeemable about Sarah as a character. I do not understand why she has friends or why she received this characterization. She sucks. She divorced her husband because he was slightly resistant to her taking out a loan to buy a bookstore. Listen, do you know how much of a struggle it is to own an independent bookstore? It is NOT easy. But this book apparently takes place in an alternate reality where people go to bookstores all the time. Whatever. In reality, Sarah's dumb little store would have already failed, which would be karma for treating her husband (who they make fun of for being a professor? despite the fact that Sarah is so romantic about her own undergraduate experience?) like absolute crap.
Anyway.
They head for Myrtle Beach. Apparently, they do zero preparations for this and end up stopping at Sarah's college town, where they go to her favorite place to eat. She orders a sandwich (and the author expects us to know what this sandwich is but never explains it). Then, Kristen goes to an art show and proceeds to completely destroy a student's art project. What pieces of human garbage. Goddamn, I hate both of them so much.
They get to Myrtle Beach and find a hotel that is $60 a night, but also has a bar beside the pool. Ok, that makes sense. There is an awful scene where Jack's swimsuit gets sucked into the jacuzzi jets. It's really stupid and serves no purpose to the plot. It's actually awful. All of these people are awful. Kristen is the worst, but her and Sarah honestly duke it out to be seen as the absolute worst of all human beings ever.
The next morning, they surprise drop into Roxanne's address. Surprise, it's not Roxanne. It's her mom, Mrs. Wilder, their mean ass gym teacher. She has no idea where Roxanne, but Kristen acts like a big dick the entire time and they judge her medications in the bathroom. Cool! They leave, meet Jack's college roommate Bert for margaritas, get drunk in a Mexican restaurant, and then they all get into a massive fight.
Then, they go home.
This is the part of the novel where I stopped caring. It was so anticlimactic. They go home. Kristen gets a bug in her ass to go check school records; they do and guess what? The school has all their school records. Listen, my husband is a teacher; so is my sister. HIGH SCHOOLS DO NOT KEEP YOUR RECORDS PAST A CERTAIN NUMBER OF YEARS. It's so exhausting to have this scene. As if there is some giant room in every public school where they keep every piece of banal information about every kid that ever stepped in the building. Yawn.
Anyway, they end up finding a sticky note on the back of Roxanne's file with the number of a school that's in, you guessed it, Sarah's college town. They do some research and go. They find Roxanne. She's perfectly normal, living in a nice little house with her daughter, also named Sarah (WHO KNOWS WHY, Sarah sucks so bad). She is pleasant and happy, but she's not the Roxanne they know.
Ok, throughout all these scenes, we get treated to scenes from high school Sarah. HS Sarah is somehow 400x worse than present day Sarah; she is boring, mean, and absolutely obsessed with herself. So, the entire novel I thought the bad thing she did to Roxanne would be huge: she ratted out Roxanne about drugs or she actually murdered her or SOMETHING. No. She signed a statement saying that Roxanne had been cheating on her to avoid getting her scholarship taken away.
I'm sorry, but that's not awful. That's barely even bad. That's literally what every stupid teenager would do if they were caught to be helping their friend cheat. Roxanne had been cheating off Sarah; Sarah admitted it; fucking and...?
Anyway, in their meeting with Roxanne, it turns out that's NOT why Roxanne left school. She left because her mom had been fucking teenagers at the school and had been messing around with Roxanne's boyfriend. So the principal helped her transfer schools and GTFO. Cool for Roxanne. She met her current husband, got pregnant, got married. She chilled. Never once does anyone say, "Holy shit, your mom raped your boyfriend!? Your mom sexually assaulted and abused him?" No, they act like her boyfriend Mark cheated on her. THESE PEOPLE ARE ALL GARBAGE.
So, after all that time, the bad thing Sarah did didn't even matter. It's NOT EVEN PART OF THE PLOT because it's so impossibly small and stupid.
Kristen and Sarah leave. (as they leave, Sarah asks about Roxanne's daughter's name and Roxanne basically says that her daughter is named after her grandma. LOL)
Because Sarah is obsessed with her stupid self, she goes to visit the former principal to ask WHY he made her sign that statement (um, because they were busting Roxanne, rightfully, for cheating?). The principal basically says it literally never mattered, he just did it to make a point, and that it's ok because all teenagers do selfish stuff. No kidding, the principal, even though we're supposed to see him as some kind of delusional mean guy, is the only intelligent character in this dumb book; he looks Sarah dead in the face and is like, "people usually grow out of being so selfish, but whatever, you seem like a piece of shit." LMAO, fuck her up, dude!
Sarah feels enlightened and goes to Kristen's house. Kristen had spent tons of time complaining about her husband, who is a piece of crap, very stereotypical man; however, when Sarah brings up this past conversation in relation to her talk with the principal, Kristen acts like Sarah is accusing her of something. Listen, Kristen, I know you're a few slices short of a whole pie, but follow along. Kristen ends up getting a new showerhead and is suddenly in a better mood, proving that she's an absolutely repulsive, stupid character and Sarah isn't much better. Ugh. This dumb book.
So Sarah leaves, feeling pretty low. She calls Bert to ask him to go to the reunion with her (do people... take dates to reunions? That's like not the point? It's not a prom) and he says no, because Jack made it clear he likes Sarah. This is a fact that is SO OBVIOUS through the book I almost wanted to set it on fire. God, Jack is a pushover and while he is pretty obnoxious, he deserves better than Sarah, a woman who literally never thinks of ANYONE but herself.
So Sarah goes to the reunion with Jack and proceeds to get schwasted within, like, 5 minutes? Then Mark, Roxanne's high school boyfriend who was sexually assaulted by a teacher and his girlfriend's mom, comes up and asks about Roxanne. Sarah, who is awful, acts belligerent and causes a scene; then Jack punches a man who was sexually assaulted as a teenager and they act like he's a hero. COOL.
Kristen and Roxanne then bust into prom, dressed to the nines. They all go outside and make the real Camino Beach and get even more schwasted in the back of it, chatting. Roxanne talks about her life and is more honest about it. It turns out, Roxanne did name her daughter after Sarah (WHY) and apparently had watched Sarah a few times while she was at college because she literally lived in the same town. This is proof that Sarah is totally self-absorbed; Roxanne had been in that sandwich place once while Sarah was there and SARAH DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE. This girl you think you've ruined because of some dumb cheating statement and you literally don't recognize her. Sarah, you are awful.
They then proceed to treat Mark, a sexual assault victim, like shit and then go to a bar again. Jack confesses that, actually, he really likes Sarah. And Sarah is like cool. They kiss. It's totally inexplicable why Jack (I just realized maybe his name is John? I honestly do not remember) likes her because, again, Sarah is an absolute garbage can of a human being.
The book ends. It is absolutely obnoxious to read and absolute waste of time. If you want to read a book about the most self-absorbed awful people in the entire universe, go ahead. Read it. I have no idea why it was written. A bunch of boring, mean white women going on an adventure to find the friend they treated like crap 20 years ago. Nothing redeemable. Nothing to learn. Awful people not getting their comeuppance. Sigh.
July 5, 2017
Sarah, Kristen & Roxanne were like the Three Muskateers in high school. Then some stuff went down, Roxanne disappears from school and Sarah & Kristen try, half-heartedly because they're high school kids, to find her with no success.
Fast forward twenty years. It's reunion time and Sarah & Kristen's lives have moved on. Sarah has been married and divorced and they share custody of their pug. She owns a bookstore. Kristen is married with kids and lives a pretty affluent life. But reunion time brings back memories, and they decide to search for Roxanne again.
They go on a road trip, with former classmate and Sarah's neighbor, Jack, who coincidentally is now the principal of their former high school, in search of Roxanne. Follow them down their literal (& figurative) road to search for Roxanne.
A great story of growing up, regrets, memories, and enduring friendship!
Thanks to Netgalley & Lake Union Publishing for this great read!
Fast forward twenty years. It's reunion time and Sarah & Kristen's lives have moved on. Sarah has been married and divorced and they share custody of their pug. She owns a bookstore. Kristen is married with kids and lives a pretty affluent life. But reunion time brings back memories, and they decide to search for Roxanne again.
They go on a road trip, with former classmate and Sarah's neighbor, Jack, who coincidentally is now the principal of their former high school, in search of Roxanne. Follow them down their literal (& figurative) road to search for Roxanne.
A great story of growing up, regrets, memories, and enduring friendship!
Thanks to Netgalley & Lake Union Publishing for this great read!
March 29, 2017
Camino Beach was well written, but I feel like it would've been better served with a 10-year gap between story lines rather than a 20. I don't know anyone who would still be fixated on a lost friendship from high school that long after the fact. That part was a bit too far fetched for me. I've had close friends from high school and college disappear in the years since, but I don't chase after them. Facebook exists, and even if not, friendships just fizzle out sometimes -- even the strongest ones. People change and move on. You can't cling onto every friendship forever or you'll just make yourself sick. This novel made me glad that I didn't peak in high school, so I don't feel the need to think about those years all too often!
* NetGalley review.
* NetGalley review.
July 21, 2017
A very quick read. I liked the story but for some reason I just didn't connect with the characters. I think the author was very heavy handed with pop culture mentions and the way the characters talked. I would have liked to have read just the high school part of the story with more insight into each teen.
July 4, 2017
Love these girls
At some point I need to own up to the fact that I enjoy stories like this one. I started out not sure if I would like another road trip to uncovering secrets kind of story, but I really enjoyed the ride. This is a great summer read.
At some point I need to own up to the fact that I enjoy stories like this one. I started out not sure if I would like another road trip to uncovering secrets kind of story, but I really enjoyed the ride. This is a great summer read.
July 22, 2017
3.5 stars, fun & easy book to read while traveling!
Thank you to Net Galley for a free e copy of this book in exchange for a fair & honest review.
El Camino by Elizabeth Cook played in my head while reading this fun book!
Thank you to Net Galley for a free e copy of this book in exchange for a fair & honest review.
El Camino by Elizabeth Cook played in my head while reading this fun book!
April 28, 2017
Camino Beach is about Sarah and her long-time friend Kristen who are fast approaching their 20th high school reunion and their journey to find a long-lost high school friend, Roxanne. It's peppered with high school flashbacks that describe their high school experiences and drama with Roxanne. I enjoyed the friendship between Sarah and Kristen and how real their relationship feels, although I feel like a 10-year reunion would have been more believable. Honestly, considering how many people I have lost contact with through the years, I have a hard time believing that two adults 20 years out of high school, one of whom has a family and another who runs a small business, would make such a trip. What bothered me was their immature behavior during the actual reunion. I lost a some love for them in the end due to that, actually. I did like their fiesty friend Roxanne and their side-kick classmate Jack though. This was a fun read overall, and great for summer.
June 15, 2017
I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
I'm torn between two trains of thought about this book. On one hand, I'm disappointed that the big secret turned out to be something unimportant. On the other, I'm impressed that the author managed to capture that feeling of realizing as an adult that all your big problems in high school really weren't such a big deal after all. I definitely enjoyed it more toward the beginning when it felt like there was some big mystery reveal they were building up to, but even when that pretty much unraveled, it was a fun summer read and left me feeling just a little nostalgic for some of my own high school experiences. It was a little more "chick lit" than I usually prefer, but if that's what you're into, I would definitely recommend it.
I'm torn between two trains of thought about this book. On one hand, I'm disappointed that the big secret turned out to be something unimportant. On the other, I'm impressed that the author managed to capture that feeling of realizing as an adult that all your big problems in high school really weren't such a big deal after all. I definitely enjoyed it more toward the beginning when it felt like there was some big mystery reveal they were building up to, but even when that pretty much unraveled, it was a fun summer read and left me feeling just a little nostalgic for some of my own high school experiences. It was a little more "chick lit" than I usually prefer, but if that's what you're into, I would definitely recommend it.
October 10, 2018
This was okay—neither Sarah nor Kristen is entirely likable, but both have guys who stick around. And Roxanne—the build up to finding her is so long that when they do find her it is a disappointment—for Sarah and Kristen and for the reader. The book definitely got teenage years: self-involvement and self importance, as well as how difficult it is to know what to do when someone is experiencing something so unlike anything you know.
January 27, 2019
As advertised.
They have an El Camino. They want to put sand in the El Camino. So it’s like a beach. An El Camino beach. Get it?! GET IT?! Camino! El Camino. Beach.
Did I mention they have an El Camino? Also the protagonist is a grown ass woman still hung up on high school. Even the other characters in the book didn’t care about her shit. Also there is an El Camino.
They have an El Camino. They want to put sand in the El Camino. So it’s like a beach. An El Camino beach. Get it?! GET IT?! Camino! El Camino. Beach.
Did I mention they have an El Camino? Also the protagonist is a grown ass woman still hung up on high school. Even the other characters in the book didn’t care about her shit. Also there is an El Camino.
November 25, 2018
An El Camino named Elvira
Where do I begin? I absolutely loved this book. Amanda Callendrier develops her characters well and delivers an interesting plot. Surely everyone knew or was Kristen, Sarah or Roxanne in high school. Unexpected plot twists and a happy ending make this book one I will remember.
Where do I begin? I absolutely loved this book. Amanda Callendrier develops her characters well and delivers an interesting plot. Surely everyone knew or was Kristen, Sarah or Roxanne in high school. Unexpected plot twists and a happy ending make this book one I will remember.
February 18, 2020
Better than decent
Forgiving the odd wobble when it felt like the story line may be disintegrating into plain old drama, this story is really about friendship and how we change as we get older, and whether we accept that change. Things that we may fixate on are not that important in the grand scheme of things. An enjoyable read.
Forgiving the odd wobble when it felt like the story line may be disintegrating into plain old drama, this story is really about friendship and how we change as we get older, and whether we accept that change. Things that we may fixate on are not that important in the grand scheme of things. An enjoyable read.
November 24, 2018
Loved. This.
Brought back the trauma & drama, of high school, with the poignancy of friendships lost, as well as those that forever remain.
Brought back the trauma & drama, of high school, with the poignancy of friendships lost, as well as those that forever remain.
January 22, 2019
Fun read!
This book is about the nostalgia of high school friendships. A little predictable but all in all a pleasant read.
This book is about the nostalgia of high school friendships. A little predictable but all in all a pleasant read.
November 18, 2018
Anyone that ever went to high school and lost track of a good friend will relate to this book. Fun read with likable characters.
November 1, 2018
Friendship, Romance, & Nashville!
I rarely venture out of the mystery genre but I’m so glad I did! This book had everything I love in it as a Nashvillian. It made me laugh, cry, and cheer on the 3 friends every chapter.
I rarely venture out of the mystery genre but I’m so glad I did! This book had everything I love in it as a Nashvillian. It made me laugh, cry, and cheer on the 3 friends every chapter.
July 7, 2017
Great book, perfect beach read. Nothing like high school friends reuniting after 20 years apart.
July 21, 2018
Letting go of the past
I love this book. It reminded you that some times you have to let go of the past. The characters were ones you feel in love with and could relate to. Great summer reading.
I love this book. It reminded you that some times you have to let go of the past. The characters were ones you feel in love with and could relate to. Great summer reading.
March 15, 2019
A fun, feel good story.
May 9, 2017
I enjoyed this book a great deal. It is a coming-of-age story about three high-school friends, now reignited on the occasion of their twentieth reunion. At the core of the story is the quest undertaken by the two who remained, Sarah and Kristen, for their lost friend Roxanne, who walked out of their lives in the last days of school, never to return. The narration is by Sarah, and her voice is brisk, funny, ironical, very insightful except where she is concerned, and provides many of the good laughs in this book. But it is at times overlaid with regret and guilt over the part she may have played in her friend's disappearance.
I am very impressed by the way the author manages to bring her characters to life within a few short pages. Their personalities, quirks, needs, and insecurities engage the reader very quickly. It's a fun read and very accomplished debut novel.
I am very impressed by the way the author manages to bring her characters to life within a few short pages. Their personalities, quirks, needs, and insecurities engage the reader very quickly. It's a fun read and very accomplished debut novel.
June 22, 2017
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Net Galley for review.
This has to be the funniest book I've read in some time. The characters were brilliant, the dialogue was comical and the story was charming. I normally don't like shallow, self-absorbed characters, but Kristen was hysterical.
The story takes place in Nashville and alternates between 1997 and present-day. There is a 20-year HS reunion on the horizon and Sarah with her longtime friend, Kristen, are on a mission to find Roxanne, another good friend of theirs who abruptly left in their Senior year of HS and they hadn't heard from since. After hiring a PI to locate Roxanne, the pair, along with another classmate, Jack - former high school nerd and current high school principal - go on a road trip in a purple El Camino to Myrtle Beach. No spoilers...except to say that I was thoroughly entertained by this story.
This has to be the funniest book I've read in some time. The characters were brilliant, the dialogue was comical and the story was charming. I normally don't like shallow, self-absorbed characters, but Kristen was hysterical.
The story takes place in Nashville and alternates between 1997 and present-day. There is a 20-year HS reunion on the horizon and Sarah with her longtime friend, Kristen, are on a mission to find Roxanne, another good friend of theirs who abruptly left in their Senior year of HS and they hadn't heard from since. After hiring a PI to locate Roxanne, the pair, along with another classmate, Jack - former high school nerd and current high school principal - go on a road trip in a purple El Camino to Myrtle Beach. No spoilers...except to say that I was thoroughly entertained by this story.
June 3, 2021
Great read
Fun, sentimental, emotional, teary, and wild. And those were the easy parts! Brought back high school memories and wondering where they are now? moments. Loved it!
Fun, sentimental, emotional, teary, and wild. And those were the easy parts! Brought back high school memories and wondering where they are now? moments. Loved it!
February 26, 2019
Why did I finish this book? The plot is horrible and I’m sorry, but does not apply to people looking at their 20 year reunion. These girls still act and think like teenagers and have apparently had no reflection or no personal growth over the last 20 years. Um, no. Also, I haven’t been so frustrated with bad writing since “Fifty Shades”. At one point she writes something about “school was over and no one had anywhere to be for the next thirty minutes.” Literally the next sentence talks about how one of them was late for an after school practice and then the other one’s Coach came up to look for her. Doesn’t that imply you gave somewhere to be? Also, Kristen never mentions hers kids, ever. And then at one point her BFF in the whole world, Sarah, says she doesn’t know their names, or which kid belongs to which J name. But then the next paragraph is James doing x and Jefferson saying y. Anyway, just bad storytelling because it made me stop and say WTF over and over to try to figure out what was happening.
Spoilers - someone who steals from stores, getting you and your mom in trouble, cheats off you and steals your work is NOT your best friend. Maybe at 17 it seems like that, but by your 20th reunion you’d figure that out. And the guy that’s crushed on your since high school and still is your neighbor and best friend doesn’t think that you’re still the person you were in high school so when you have to remind him over 3 pages that you’re not the same person anymore, no shit, he knows. He’s sees you everyday. And everyone’s school probably has the rumors about the cheer leader’s mom screwing the cheer leader’ boyfriend, so that was pretty cliche. As are all of the characters, actually
I got this book for free in amazon with a kindle credit. I would not recommend this selection.
Spoilers - someone who steals from stores, getting you and your mom in trouble, cheats off you and steals your work is NOT your best friend. Maybe at 17 it seems like that, but by your 20th reunion you’d figure that out. And the guy that’s crushed on your since high school and still is your neighbor and best friend doesn’t think that you’re still the person you were in high school so when you have to remind him over 3 pages that you’re not the same person anymore, no shit, he knows. He’s sees you everyday. And everyone’s school probably has the rumors about the cheer leader’s mom screwing the cheer leader’ boyfriend, so that was pretty cliche. As are all of the characters, actually
I got this book for free in amazon with a kindle credit. I would not recommend this selection.
September 10, 2017
Perfect summer read from a debut novelist I will definitely read again. I say this whole-heartedly, and not just because Amanda Callendrier is a personal friend, and I've been eager for the publication of 'Camino Beach' since I first learned about its concept years ago. Callendrier's dog-lover bookseller protagonist Sarah Martin is conflicted from page one -- to suppress certain high school memories and try to keep a painful personal secret or to help her best friend seek out their missing third friend of their important trio before their upcoming high school reunion. The reader slowly discovers what drives Sarah's worries -- and what is at stake. We are usually only one tiny step ahead of Sarah in understanding her situation. The friendships between Sarah and her friend Kristen, her employees, her parents, her good friend Jack, and her amusingly one-dimensional ex-husband are all carefully wrought, with great dialogue and realistic turns in the storyline, page by page. Just when you think you can predict where this crazy purple El Camino road trip is headed, you learn you were wrong. I'm not from "the South," but the community and characters in this novel were as real and familiar to me as the actual places and people of Kansas City would be. 'Camino Beach' was a pleasure to read -- really good fun. Sarah's successful bricks-and-mortar bookstore made it all the more so.
June 15, 2023
I had a little issue with connecting to the main characters. They were VERY well written, don't get me wrong, but they weren't likable or relatable to me. It came off as they were the mean and judgy girls in high school and were still that way 20 years later. There was a lot of fat shaming in the writing of this book which really made them unlikeable to me as a reader. Some example quotes are 1. "his belly hanging unattractively over his boxers." 2. "Her fine, sharp jawline had softened with the extra weight. It was, oddly, not unattractive; she just seemed more approachable." 3. "or for two people of the larger persuasion." 4. "It might have been a few sizes bigger than she used to wear". And these were just in the last 70 pages of the book when I started writing some down, and I didn't share them all. She also seemed to shame people who worked at McDonald's which isn't fair. No one should be made to feel as though their job is less than.
Anyway. Those things just made the story and characters not likable FOR ME.
But it was a story that showed how in our own heads and own worlds we can all be. It did a good job of showing that.
I don't know who I'd recommend this to and I wouldn't read again but it had some enjoyable moments for me.
Anyway. Those things just made the story and characters not likable FOR ME.
But it was a story that showed how in our own heads and own worlds we can all be. It did a good job of showing that.
I don't know who I'd recommend this to and I wouldn't read again but it had some enjoyable moments for me.
May 26, 2017
CAMINO BEACH by Amanada Callendrier was a read that puts you back into your own senior year of high school, if you are my age at least. The 90s references were very applicable and made me a little nostalgic. I appreciated the way it was told from two points in time by the same author. I know some reviews were harsh about it taking place 20 years apart but it made me think of how different I was at 18 compared to 38 myself, much more so than 28. I think if you try to see the narrator through that lens, many of the plot points and the tone of the narrator make complete sense. I loved the friendship between Sarah and Kristen and evolution of Jack in the novel, as well as all the humorous situations they found themselves in. All in all, I really enjoyed it!
I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 8, 2017
What happens when you revisit high school
This book tells the story of a split up trio that go out searching for the lost friend before their 20 year high school reunion. The two friends go down memory lane as they search for their missing friend.
This book would have been more believable if they were going to a 10 year high school reunion. After 20 years I would imagine the broken friendships of high school are all but a distant memory. I also found it amusing that their was no social media reference. In many ways this story isn't believable because most likely the friends would be easily located on Facebook or some other social media platform.
Nevertheless, the book was mildly entertaining and a quick read. The relationships were decent between the characters. This is a quick summer read that will be forgettable.
This book tells the story of a split up trio that go out searching for the lost friend before their 20 year high school reunion. The two friends go down memory lane as they search for their missing friend.
This book would have been more believable if they were going to a 10 year high school reunion. After 20 years I would imagine the broken friendships of high school are all but a distant memory. I also found it amusing that their was no social media reference. In many ways this story isn't believable because most likely the friends would be easily located on Facebook or some other social media platform.
Nevertheless, the book was mildly entertaining and a quick read. The relationships were decent between the characters. This is a quick summer read that will be forgettable.
May 11, 2017
A Southern chick lit book, involving a road trip in an El Camino, a long lost friend, and a high school reunion? Sign me up! It reminds me of some of my favorites like Joshilyn Jackson and Beth Harbison. But unfortunately, the book didn't live up to its premise and hold my attention throughout. It started strong enough but fizzled along the way. The "big secret" wasn't so big, the road trip wasn't either that fun or that revealing, and the romance was more than a little clunky. Even the book's namesake -- an El Camino filled with sand -- was underwhelming. I think the writer has potential, and I would give her another chance, but this book didn't knock my socks off.
I was given an advance copy by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was given an advance copy by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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