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Beach Trip
A reunion of four friends becomes a cathartic journey into the past in Cathy Holton’ s luminous new novel.Mel, Sara, Annie, and Lola have traveled distinct and diverse paths since their years together at a small Southern liberal arts college during the early 1980s. Mel, a mystery writer living in New York, is grappling with the aftermath of two failed marriages and a stalled writing career. Sara, an Atlanta attorney, struggles with guilt over her son’s illness and her own slowly unraveling marriage. Annie, a successful Nashville businesswoman married to her childhood sweetheart, can’t seem to leave behind the regrets of her youth. And Lola, sweet-tempered and absentminded, whiles away her hours–and her husband’s money–on little pills that keep her happy.Now the friends, all in their forties, converge on Lola’s lavish North Carolina beach house in an attempt to relive the carefree days of their college years. But as the week wear
406 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
709 people are currently reading
7490 people want to read
About the author
Cathy Holton
9 books179 followersCathy Holton continues to entertain readers with her stories of strong, intelligent women trying to survive in an often hostile world. The Boston Globe says “Holton has a lively, fluid style that shifts easily among the viewpoints’ of several characters and goes down as easily as sweet tea,” while Entertainment Weekly calls her prose “Sharp, witty, and warm.”
Although grateful for the critical praise, it is the enthusiastic response of readers who tell her they “laughed, cried, and let dinner burn” while reading one of her novels that inspires her most.
Sadly, Cathy passed away in 2013 after a long battle with cancer. She will be terribly missed by her friends and family. Fortunately for her readers, Cathy left behind a treasure trove of finished and narly finished manuscripts. We can think of no better tribute to Cathy than to publish these works. To that end, her family and publisher are working hard to get these books ready. The first of these legacy Novels: The Rico Boys is now available on Amazon Kindle, with a paperback to follow. Other titles are forthcoming.
Become a Fan of Cathy Holton on Facebook for free excerpts, giveaways, “character” interviews and more. Follow her at www.cathyholton.com and on Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 482 reviews
March 31, 2011
I wouldn't recommend this book. There are so many things that I found annoying/unreal/frustrating about it. Yet, it could trigger some good feminist discussion, so for that one point, I didn't hate it.
What I don't like:
-The author has a few solid discrepancies that are pretty apparent. Timelines arent always accurate. Before a boat ride, one of the characters says shes never been on a boat in deep water but wait... thats the only way to get the island.
-Every female character is pathetic in pretty major ways. Yes, I get the idea that people put on airs and things aren't always as they seem, but this took it way too far. This was DRAMA for the sake of more drama.
-Flat characters exept when they did something crazy unbelievable. (Explaining would be spoiling the majority of the book)
- The ending was simply stupid.
Not to mention that the author switches decades from time to time, but sometimes notes it in the chapter and sometimes she doesn't. She also changes narrators mid page ALL THE TIME. As a result I never feel connected to a single character.
Overall this book was unbelievable, and yet somehow managed to make me feel depressed. Ugh.
What I don't like:
-The author has a few solid discrepancies that are pretty apparent. Timelines arent always accurate. Before a boat ride, one of the characters says shes never been on a boat in deep water but wait... thats the only way to get the island.
-Every female character is pathetic in pretty major ways. Yes, I get the idea that people put on airs and things aren't always as they seem, but this took it way too far. This was DRAMA for the sake of more drama.
-Flat characters exept when they did something crazy unbelievable. (Explaining would be spoiling the majority of the book)
- The ending was simply stupid.
Not to mention that the author switches decades from time to time, but sometimes notes it in the chapter and sometimes she doesn't. She also changes narrators mid page ALL THE TIME. As a result I never feel connected to a single character.
Overall this book was unbelievable, and yet somehow managed to make me feel depressed. Ugh.
July 7, 2009
NOT A GOOD TRIP
I am always, always in search of another great women bonding book similar to Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney or Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik. When I came upon Beach Trip, I thought it had potential. Certainly the cover was beautiful, the premise of four college roommates meeting up again some 20 years later was a good one and the author seemed to have a huge fan base. I was getting ready to leave for a Las Vegas vacation and decided this would be the book I would take with me. Reading on the plane, reading at the pool....I could picture it all as I was packing my bag.
So I started it en route to Las Vegas leaving from Philadelphia and probably put it down by the time we reached Ohio and opted instead for a magazine. That was not a good sign as Ohio connects to Pennsylvania. So I tried again at the pool. After about 10 pages, I put it down thinking perhaps it was too hot outside to read. Each time I picked it up, I had a different reason for putting it down. The book jumped back and forth between the years the girls were living together in college in 1980 and their week's vacation on Whale Head Island, North Carolina twenty-three years later. As the story was jumping back and forth, I was doing the same thing in picking it up and putting it down.
At this point, I'd like to make a statement about women bonding books. If you are an author and you want the reader to bond with these women, the reader has to like them. Why would a reader bond with characters they don't like? I didn't like any of these characters. And, here's another tidbit...if you have your characters drinking from the minute they wake up in the morning until they close their eyes at night, I like them even less. I'm not saying that a reader has to like every character in every book they read. But in a "bonding" book, such as this, it would help.
I can't figure out if I liked them less as college students or less as the women they became. In college, we will meet Lola....beautiful and from a wealthy political family where the world will be her oyster. When we meet her again, she has married the man her mother has chosen, seems very ditsy and definitely is not in love. Then there's Mel....very outgoing in college and getting every guy she wants. We meet her again and she is twice divorced, very outspoken and definitely can't commit to one man. In college, Sara stood in the background and didn't go after what she wanted. Later she is a married attorney with an autistic son but definitely able to go after what she wants. Annie is the OCD college student spending more time cleaning than enjoying her college days (or so her friends think). Now she is married and experiencing empty nest syndrome while still cleaning her house with every waking hour she has.
Now I ask you, do these sound like women you would want to be friends with? During the vacation week, when they aren't drinking, they are eating and fighting and shopping and lounging and trying to pick up younger men and drinking some more. It's here that many of the secrets, that were supposedly hidden from the reader and each other, will be exposed. I can't imagine that there are too many readers out there that didn't figure out these secrets long before the author chose to spell them out.
You're probably wondering how I ended up finishing this book after putting it down so many times. It all happened in the Las Vegas airport when my flight home was delayed three separate times because of bad weather in Philadelphia. At one point, we had already gotten on the plane only to be told to get off again. So in a way, the book ended up giving me a respite from all the aggravation I was feeling with my situation. I just wish the book I had chosen for this trip had been a better one.
I am always, always in search of another great women bonding book similar to Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney or Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik. When I came upon Beach Trip, I thought it had potential. Certainly the cover was beautiful, the premise of four college roommates meeting up again some 20 years later was a good one and the author seemed to have a huge fan base. I was getting ready to leave for a Las Vegas vacation and decided this would be the book I would take with me. Reading on the plane, reading at the pool....I could picture it all as I was packing my bag.
So I started it en route to Las Vegas leaving from Philadelphia and probably put it down by the time we reached Ohio and opted instead for a magazine. That was not a good sign as Ohio connects to Pennsylvania. So I tried again at the pool. After about 10 pages, I put it down thinking perhaps it was too hot outside to read. Each time I picked it up, I had a different reason for putting it down. The book jumped back and forth between the years the girls were living together in college in 1980 and their week's vacation on Whale Head Island, North Carolina twenty-three years later. As the story was jumping back and forth, I was doing the same thing in picking it up and putting it down.
At this point, I'd like to make a statement about women bonding books. If you are an author and you want the reader to bond with these women, the reader has to like them. Why would a reader bond with characters they don't like? I didn't like any of these characters. And, here's another tidbit...if you have your characters drinking from the minute they wake up in the morning until they close their eyes at night, I like them even less. I'm not saying that a reader has to like every character in every book they read. But in a "bonding" book, such as this, it would help.
I can't figure out if I liked them less as college students or less as the women they became. In college, we will meet Lola....beautiful and from a wealthy political family where the world will be her oyster. When we meet her again, she has married the man her mother has chosen, seems very ditsy and definitely is not in love. Then there's Mel....very outgoing in college and getting every guy she wants. We meet her again and she is twice divorced, very outspoken and definitely can't commit to one man. In college, Sara stood in the background and didn't go after what she wanted. Later she is a married attorney with an autistic son but definitely able to go after what she wants. Annie is the OCD college student spending more time cleaning than enjoying her college days (or so her friends think). Now she is married and experiencing empty nest syndrome while still cleaning her house with every waking hour she has.
Now I ask you, do these sound like women you would want to be friends with? During the vacation week, when they aren't drinking, they are eating and fighting and shopping and lounging and trying to pick up younger men and drinking some more. It's here that many of the secrets, that were supposedly hidden from the reader and each other, will be exposed. I can't imagine that there are too many readers out there that didn't figure out these secrets long before the author chose to spell them out.
You're probably wondering how I ended up finishing this book after putting it down so many times. It all happened in the Las Vegas airport when my flight home was delayed three separate times because of bad weather in Philadelphia. At one point, we had already gotten on the plane only to be told to get off again. So in a way, the book ended up giving me a respite from all the aggravation I was feeling with my situation. I just wish the book I had chosen for this trip had been a better one.
February 10, 2011
This book intrigued me because it was set on "Whale Head Island" - why bother with the pseudonym when EVERYTHING else about it is specific to Bald Head Island, NC -- my favorite place in the world!! Anyway, that small detail bothered me the WHOLE time. The story of 4 college girlfriends who have grown apart and are taking a week's vacation together 20+ years later--resonated with me. I read this book in two days, super easy read. As I was reading it on the Kindle, I kept thinking - ok, I am 50% done when is it going to delve a bit deeper? I am 60% done, 70% done, etc. About 90% of the way through the book (according to the trusty Kindle) all of a sudden all the storylines started to wrap up way too neatly. Surprising plot twist at the end. Not a bad book, but certainly not memorable. More of a throw-away read when you are in the mood for that kind of book.
July 22, 2015
This book was just a lot longer than it needed to be. I was, frankly, bored at the repetition and lengthy explanations of insignificant plot points. I couldn't relate to the idea of keeping all your biggest secrets hidden from the people who are allegedly your dearest friends. Meh.
September 25, 2012
This book was about 150 pages too long.
December 7, 2012
What a great "escape" book! Four old college pals get together 20-some years later for a beach holiday. Funny, sweet and sad. A great ride.
July 11, 2013
I loved this book and didn't want it to end, even after 406 pages. I bought it last year and put it on the shelf, thinking I had succumbed to picking up a light chick lit book while on a beach vacation. It lingered on the shelf until vacation time this year - guilt made me pack it to take to the beach. The story of four women meeting 20 years after college graduation for a week-long vacation...at the beach, of course, is so much more than the usual light fare. The dialogue is terrific, the humor and heart-wrenching story of each of the four women who had gone in very different directions - so, so good!
The book was so good that I went to the same bookstore this year to find another Cathy Holton book. None to be found. I started looking online - she had written two books before this one and two after. While searching around, I was stunned and saddened, because I have developed a fondness and respect for this author, to find out she passed away after a 15-year battle with cancer at the end of May this year. I will get all of her books, because I love Southern fiction, and I love her style - hard copies to share and read again.
The book was so good that I went to the same bookstore this year to find another Cathy Holton book. None to be found. I started looking online - she had written two books before this one and two after. While searching around, I was stunned and saddened, because I have developed a fondness and respect for this author, to find out she passed away after a 15-year battle with cancer at the end of May this year. I will get all of her books, because I love Southern fiction, and I love her style - hard copies to share and read again.
June 15, 2016
Awful, with a "plot twist" that I saw coming from the opening chapters.
September 14, 2012
i'm being generous, giving this book two stars. the book was gifted to me by a friend, as my three girlfriends and i went away for the weekend to block island. she thought the book was cute and appropriate, i thought it was a thoughtful gift, and i wanted to finish the book to show my appreciation.
what i (barely) liked: i was begrudgingly intrigued enough to read to the end to see how the book concluded. although, my parting thought was relief it was over, more than satisfaction of having read a well told story. the four friends were okay (believable, likeable) but at the same time flat and unremarkable.
what i disliked: 1. the writing constantly flipped between the present and past of four different characters....so the story felt choppy and hard to get into. 2. i think the book was meant to build to a very revealing climax, but it wasn't sucessful or well done. the author left the (not so) deep, revealing conversations to the VERY end of a 400 page book. annoying. 3. i hate when an author sticks a ridiculous word (thaumaturgy) and its definition, in a book. and not just once, but multiple times. and it isn't relevent to the story. maybe she thought it was, but it was forced and distracting. same goes for an alcoholic drink and its recipe (margaronas). mildly interesting to maybe recreate the drink if it seemed intruiging, but felt like the author was dared or paid to put it in the novel. actual dialogue: "title IX ensures that there'll be more female college grads in the future than male ones". again, it feels more awkwardly informative and unecessary than genuine or realistic. 4. WAY too many cliche turns of phrase, many used more than once. she references "the elephant in the room" repeatedly. the reader should just "know" there is an unspoken tension....spelling it out just shows the author was not confident she got that across. the author also went overboard with the "moonlight shining", the "cicadas chirping", the "pachelbel playing" (or references to jimmy buffet playing in the background), or literary disagreements about "the madwoman in the attic" or "middlemarch". i'm sure the author is trying to set the mood or describe the setting, but it feels so sophmoric and trite.
overall: slow, choppy, no REALLY big secrets revealed or confidences shared. just okay. disappointing.
what i (barely) liked: i was begrudgingly intrigued enough to read to the end to see how the book concluded. although, my parting thought was relief it was over, more than satisfaction of having read a well told story. the four friends were okay (believable, likeable) but at the same time flat and unremarkable.
what i disliked: 1. the writing constantly flipped between the present and past of four different characters....so the story felt choppy and hard to get into. 2. i think the book was meant to build to a very revealing climax, but it wasn't sucessful or well done. the author left the (not so) deep, revealing conversations to the VERY end of a 400 page book. annoying. 3. i hate when an author sticks a ridiculous word (thaumaturgy) and its definition, in a book. and not just once, but multiple times. and it isn't relevent to the story. maybe she thought it was, but it was forced and distracting. same goes for an alcoholic drink and its recipe (margaronas). mildly interesting to maybe recreate the drink if it seemed intruiging, but felt like the author was dared or paid to put it in the novel. actual dialogue: "title IX ensures that there'll be more female college grads in the future than male ones". again, it feels more awkwardly informative and unecessary than genuine or realistic. 4. WAY too many cliche turns of phrase, many used more than once. she references "the elephant in the room" repeatedly. the reader should just "know" there is an unspoken tension....spelling it out just shows the author was not confident she got that across. the author also went overboard with the "moonlight shining", the "cicadas chirping", the "pachelbel playing" (or references to jimmy buffet playing in the background), or literary disagreements about "the madwoman in the attic" or "middlemarch". i'm sure the author is trying to set the mood or describe the setting, but it feels so sophmoric and trite.
overall: slow, choppy, no REALLY big secrets revealed or confidences shared. just okay. disappointing.
February 21, 2017
Wish I had heeded the reviews, I finished it... but that was a chore. I couldn't care less about the characters, they were so one dimensional and predictable. Could have been a third shorter with more pace. Xx
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June 13, 2012My book club read this, or I wouldn't have chosen it to read. It contains some good writing, some beautiful description, but it's not really my kind of book. I read the first 140 pages, and then I got tired of waiting for the payoff, so I read the last 50 or so pages. I don't feel like I missed anything. I didn't rate it because that's not fair when I didn't read the whole thing. Still, it didn't compel me to keep reading once I hit 140 pages. I didn't much like Mel, and I couldn't understand why these women were even talking to each other after the pasts they shared. With friends like those, who needs enemies?
December 25, 2017
I liked it...college girls get together after 20 years...how their life's really are compared to how they're perceived...
Enlightening....Be true to yourself. Follow your dreams. It's never too late. Don't give up or give in. It's not really the easiest way..
Enlightening....Be true to yourself. Follow your dreams. It's never too late. Don't give up or give in. It's not really the easiest way..
June 24, 2012
This book was by far my least favorite book I think I have ever read for leisure.
August 4, 2025
This is easily one of my top favorites of the year so far. I like to think of it as a “fluff” book—an easy, enjoyable read that serves as a palate cleanser between heavier psychological thrillers and fantasy novels.
The story follows four Southern college friends who reunite for a girls’ trip at a beach house in North Carolina after more than 20 years apart. Each woman carries her own secret, and as the story unfolds, we learn how their pasts continue to shape their present.
The characters are wonderfully distinct, making their friendship all the more intriguing. Mel is a successful author living in New York, now single after a series of failed marriages and haunted by the one that got away. Sara is a devoted mother of two, one of whom is dealing with a mysterious issue that’s slowly revealed. Annie, who struggles with OCD, is also married with grown children. And Lola is a free spirit trapped in a loveless marriage.
Cathy Holton does a fantastic job of weaving past and present together. The narrative shifts between their senior year in college (1980) and the present day (2005), but the transitions are so smooth that they never feel jarring or disruptive. She teases out the characters’ histories with just the right amount of suspense—never frustrating, always compelling.
I can’t recommend this novel enough. It’s funny, relatable, and completely absorbing from page one. This was my first read by Cathy Holton, and I’ll definitely be seeking out more of her work. If you’re looking for a heartfelt, character-driven story that’s hard to put down, this is the one!
The story follows four Southern college friends who reunite for a girls’ trip at a beach house in North Carolina after more than 20 years apart. Each woman carries her own secret, and as the story unfolds, we learn how their pasts continue to shape their present.
The characters are wonderfully distinct, making their friendship all the more intriguing. Mel is a successful author living in New York, now single after a series of failed marriages and haunted by the one that got away. Sara is a devoted mother of two, one of whom is dealing with a mysterious issue that’s slowly revealed. Annie, who struggles with OCD, is also married with grown children. And Lola is a free spirit trapped in a loveless marriage.
Cathy Holton does a fantastic job of weaving past and present together. The narrative shifts between their senior year in college (1980) and the present day (2005), but the transitions are so smooth that they never feel jarring or disruptive. She teases out the characters’ histories with just the right amount of suspense—never frustrating, always compelling.
I can’t recommend this novel enough. It’s funny, relatable, and completely absorbing from page one. This was my first read by Cathy Holton, and I’ll definitely be seeking out more of her work. If you’re looking for a heartfelt, character-driven story that’s hard to put down, this is the one!
April 7, 2018
Women in their 40’s turn to over use of alcohol and marijuana in order to renew the relationships they had as college roommates and eventually spill their secrets to one another while on a week’s vacation together. I thought this was going to be a breezy beach read, but instead I’ve spent nearly two weeks slogging through over 400 pages about 4 women I didn’t much care for. Granted I did keep picking it up late at night which meant I would just doze off after a few pages (that can happen to me regardless of how much I enjoy the book); so I had a lot of starts and stops messing with the flow of the narrative. It just felt like most of the book was building the back story of each woman plus their history together and never really went from there. The plot twist at the end is just lame. The only part I truly enjoyed was the one day they were on the beach in the sun and warm sand because in real life for me it was below freezing in April!
February 10, 2021
I won this book on Goodreads. It is an interesting story about 4 woman who went to college together in the 1980’s. They all get together for a week at one of their beach homes. Their past secrets come out as they reconnect.
July 8, 2024
Slow start but a great ending! :)
July 29, 2024
A bit predictable but a great story nonetheless
June 18, 2018
Bringing the past present
I enjoyed the storyline & the secrets exposed along the way as the present & past collided. There are quite a few typographical errors so a good proofreading is necessary.
I enjoyed the storyline & the secrets exposed along the way as the present & past collided. There are quite a few typographical errors so a good proofreading is necessary.
December 30, 2015
This book was good but it had the potential to be so much better. The story is about four college friends who all get together for the first time in 20 years. They each have events and secrets in their past that they need to put to rest and events in their present lives that they need to put in perspective. The author frustratingly scratches only the surface of these problems. It is especially frustrating with the character of Lola. We get it, her husband is an asshole, but the author never gives us more than a surface glance of what goes on in their marriage. The two characters with kids have issues with their families and marriage and they are mentioned but never really explored. Sara's child has a disability and it is mentioned multiple times but the author never gives us a real picture of the child's issues, how it affects him and his family. She finally reveals what his problem actually is late in the novel and I think assumes that this is all that needs to be said. The ending comes together vey quickly with all of the characters having these big revelations and all is now well. Even the surprise twist at the end is rushed through. Also, the author takes a few political swipes at conservatives through one of her characters to, more than likely, insert her own political perspective into the novel. The swipes were merely opportunistic little bitch slaps to paint Republicans/Conservatives as hypocrites and they added nothing to the plot of the story. As a reader it always irritates me when an author insists on injecting his/her political beliefs into their novels. All in all, this is a breezy read but it could have been so much better if the author had spent less time teasing the reader and instead used the writing to really delve into these ladies lives past and present.
February 24, 2015
This is what I would consider an atypical women's reunion book about 4 women getting together decades after their college days. What struck me is that they seem to have barely kept in touch with each other, yet suddenly agree that it's time to vacation together. Old memories, and relationship dynamics come back into play, while each woman seems to feel the need to push them down in order to try to prove how far they've come and moved away from the others. There is somewhat grudging sharing of their current lives, but these women just don't ring true as real friends, either in the past, and certainly not now. I wanted to see what happened, but this is not the sisterly, dear friends women's book that I expected.
July 20, 2010
Four college roomates/best friends get together for a weeklong beach vacation.
This book is a little deeper than as "easy beach read" because there is this underlying air of mystery surrounding each of the women. The book is told in the present (2005) and then in flashbacks to their senior year of college (1982). I felt like I really got to know each of the characters this way and got a great understanding about why they've kept secrets from each other.
Overall, a very entertaining, slightly mysterious novel worthy of your time.
This book is a little deeper than as "easy beach read" because there is this underlying air of mystery surrounding each of the women. The book is told in the present (2005) and then in flashbacks to their senior year of college (1982). I felt like I really got to know each of the characters this way and got a great understanding about why they've kept secrets from each other.
Overall, a very entertaining, slightly mysterious novel worthy of your time.
March 29, 2012
Not a favorite book. Found it hard to pick up and continue reading. Figured out "most" of it prior to the end of the story. The full plot became known within the last very few pages of the book. In my opinion this book could have easily been shortened by at least 150 pages and nothing would have been lost.
October 9, 2012
Good book, about 4 college roommates who come together again in their 40's.. Flashbacks to college and scenes from now. Well written and holds your interest. Hit a couple levels for me... relationships and friendship and southern women...
September 17, 2012
"Cathy Holton is a dynamic author...great for women connecting again!"
September 19, 2015
Really enjoyed this book. A little slow in the beginning, but it takes awhile to understand all the characters.
October 23, 2015
3.5 stars. This was exactly what I was looking for, the characters were fun and it was a light read. The secrets were pretty obvious but I enjoyed reading it.
February 3, 2025
Quotable:
They were like an old married couple that has learned to ignore each other’s faults in exchange for the comfort and stability that comes with custom and routine.
“That’s right!” Mel said brightly, glancing at Sara, who colored and turned her face away. “I don’t have children. I’m too selfish and self-centered to ever have children.”
It had begun many years ago and was based, at least in part, on a simple query made by four-year-old William. It was Christmas and they were readying a box for the needy, “for the poor little children who don’t usually have a visit from Santa,” and William looked up at her with his large blue eyes and asked innocently, “But, Mommy, why doesn’t Santa bring the poor children toys? Aren’t they good?” Looking down into his angelic face, Annie was struck dumb. She wrestled for a moment with the concepts of good and evil before replying simply, “Honey, Santa tries to bring each child one gift. It’s the parents who bring all the others, and poor parents can’t afford toys.” From that moment on Santa only brought her boys one gift each, and all the others were neatly wrapped with tags proclaiming Merry Christmas From Mommy & Daddy. But William’s question started her thinking, and it was just a short leap from Santa Claus to Jehovah. She found herself puzzling over a loving God who supposedly rewarded the good and punished the bad, because if you looked around, you could see that that wasn’t true at all. The meek shall inherit the earth, but not in this lifetime, and in the meantime liars, fornicators, and thieves were rising to the highest echelons of public office, and good simple people who’d never broken a commandment their entire lives were struggling to pay their medical bills. Where was a loving God in all of that?
Mildred cared for the unborn more than she did for the already born. Here was a woman who, to Annie’s knowledge, had never volunteered at a shelter for abused children, who’d never attended a class for unwed mothers or done anything to address inner-city poverty or the plight of single mothers everywhere trying to raise a family on minimum wages. Here was a woman who had never acted as a foster parent or offered to adopt a crack baby. Instead she spent her days planting little white crosses on the church lawn, trying to make other people feel bad about decisions they’d had no choice but to make.
They were like an old married couple that has learned to ignore each other’s faults in exchange for the comfort and stability that comes with custom and routine.
“That’s right!” Mel said brightly, glancing at Sara, who colored and turned her face away. “I don’t have children. I’m too selfish and self-centered to ever have children.”
It had begun many years ago and was based, at least in part, on a simple query made by four-year-old William. It was Christmas and they were readying a box for the needy, “for the poor little children who don’t usually have a visit from Santa,” and William looked up at her with his large blue eyes and asked innocently, “But, Mommy, why doesn’t Santa bring the poor children toys? Aren’t they good?” Looking down into his angelic face, Annie was struck dumb. She wrestled for a moment with the concepts of good and evil before replying simply, “Honey, Santa tries to bring each child one gift. It’s the parents who bring all the others, and poor parents can’t afford toys.” From that moment on Santa only brought her boys one gift each, and all the others were neatly wrapped with tags proclaiming Merry Christmas From Mommy & Daddy. But William’s question started her thinking, and it was just a short leap from Santa Claus to Jehovah. She found herself puzzling over a loving God who supposedly rewarded the good and punished the bad, because if you looked around, you could see that that wasn’t true at all. The meek shall inherit the earth, but not in this lifetime, and in the meantime liars, fornicators, and thieves were rising to the highest echelons of public office, and good simple people who’d never broken a commandment their entire lives were struggling to pay their medical bills. Where was a loving God in all of that?
Mildred cared for the unborn more than she did for the already born. Here was a woman who, to Annie’s knowledge, had never volunteered at a shelter for abused children, who’d never attended a class for unwed mothers or done anything to address inner-city poverty or the plight of single mothers everywhere trying to raise a family on minimum wages. Here was a woman who had never acted as a foster parent or offered to adopt a crack baby. Instead she spent her days planting little white crosses on the church lawn, trying to make other people feel bad about decisions they’d had no choice but to make.
March 25, 2024
I’m a sucker for a good friendship book, I especially like groups of 4 or more friends. Beach Trip not only hit that mark, but it is written from multiple perspectives (each character) and from a present timeframe, when the group is mid-40s as well as back when they were in college and had just met.
Beach Trip follows Mel, Sarah, Lola, and Annie, four unlikely friends brought together as college roommates, through the next few decades of their lives. Each of the women has their own secrets kept and needing to confess. The women meet for a long-time coming reunion on a secluded island where Lola has a house, a yacht, and what seems to be all the things a person could ever want. Mel, snarky as ever, has written ten mediocre novels by now, but couldn’t keep a relationship if she were paid. Sarah has family troubles that she has hidden from her friends, and Annie has a secret kept since college. During this week of over-indulgence, confessions come, fences are mended, and hearts are broken.
Beach Trip takes a sudden, unexpected turn at the very end (which I sort of saw coming, but not in the way it played out), and leaves the reader with a lot to think about. But don’t worry, it has a HEA.
This book was published in the early 2000s and when I researched other books by this author, I was saddened to learn she passed away of a terminal illness in 2013. Her family, however, has completed her other unpublished manuscripts. Bravo!
If you like a solid, clean, yet complicated friendship novel, this one is lengthy, but worth the time it takes. Thanks for writing, Beach Trip. Rest in peace, Cathy Holton, I will be reading your other work.
Beach Trip follows Mel, Sarah, Lola, and Annie, four unlikely friends brought together as college roommates, through the next few decades of their lives. Each of the women has their own secrets kept and needing to confess. The women meet for a long-time coming reunion on a secluded island where Lola has a house, a yacht, and what seems to be all the things a person could ever want. Mel, snarky as ever, has written ten mediocre novels by now, but couldn’t keep a relationship if she were paid. Sarah has family troubles that she has hidden from her friends, and Annie has a secret kept since college. During this week of over-indulgence, confessions come, fences are mended, and hearts are broken.
Beach Trip takes a sudden, unexpected turn at the very end (which I sort of saw coming, but not in the way it played out), and leaves the reader with a lot to think about. But don’t worry, it has a HEA.
This book was published in the early 2000s and when I researched other books by this author, I was saddened to learn she passed away of a terminal illness in 2013. Her family, however, has completed her other unpublished manuscripts. Bravo!
If you like a solid, clean, yet complicated friendship novel, this one is lengthy, but worth the time it takes. Thanks for writing, Beach Trip. Rest in peace, Cathy Holton, I will be reading your other work.
July 19, 2024
Best of friends and college roommates, Mel, Lola, Annie and Sara, now in their mid-40's, have arrived at Lola's lavish beach home for a week long girl's trip. Their lives have been quite diverse: Mel, a best-selling author lives in NYC and has 2 failed marriages in her past; Sara, a lawyer in Atlanta, is married with 2 children, one of whom has a difficult diagnosis; Annie lives in Nashville and helps to run her husband's family business; her two sons are grown and off to college; Lola lives her life in a pill-infused fog as she spends her husband's money, a husband she doesn't even like, let alone love. The four women are thrilled to be back together, sharing memories but fearful of sharing secrets that just might ruin friendships for life.
This is an enjoyable story of four women who have weathered some tragedies in their lives but still remain faithful to their friends. The setting is lovely with opulent beach houses, yachts, exclusive island resorts, and a staff at one's beck and call. I felt the book was a bit overlong but it was a good read.
This is an enjoyable story of four women who have weathered some tragedies in their lives but still remain faithful to their friends. The setting is lovely with opulent beach houses, yachts, exclusive island resorts, and a staff at one's beck and call. I felt the book was a bit overlong but it was a good read.
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