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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captured my Heart!, May 9, 2011
This review is from: The Beach Trees (Paperback)
The Beach Trees by Karen White is a novel of love, family, and the endurance of both friendship and life. Karen White is one of my favorite authors and in my opinion she is a wonderful writer and creator of beautiful stories. In The Beach Trees we travel to Biloxi, Mississippi which had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina but is being painstakingly rebuilt by people with a lot of hope and faith. Julie Holt has had her share of tragedy in her life. At the young age of twelve her sister is taken while Julie is supposed to be watching her. Julie has spent her life searching for Chelsea; it has consumed her. She simply can't believe Chelsea is really gone; as long as there is no body, there is still hope that she may be found or come home. Now Julie is heading to Biloxi to a beach house left to her by her late friend Monica. Along with that beach house Monica also left her five year old son Beau to Julie. Julie arrives to find that the beach house no longer exists. It had been destroyed by Katrina. She is devastated and has no idea what to do next. Monica had told her to see Ray Von, an elderly woman who gives her a portrait that Julie's own great-grandfather had painted and that is worth a lot of money. She tells her to take Beau to New Orleans to meet Beau's great-grandmother Aimee and that she can be sure of a place to stay there. Julie dreads the meeting as she will have to tell Aimee and Monica's brother Trey that she has passed away but she knows that both Beau and his family deserve to know each other. As she expected they are devastated but at least now they know what happened to Monica after she disappeared. They are thrilled to have a piece of Monica though in Beau and encourage Julie to stay. Julie takes to Aimee right away and vice versa. Trey however is another story. He and Monica were very close and he is hurt and angry but as Julie and Trey begin to rebuild the beach house called River Song, they discover that they have much more in common than they thought. The story itself is told alternately through the viewpoints of Aimee from the 1950's and Julie in the present. As Julie and Aimee spend more time together, the story will switch to the past as Aimee tells Julie what had gone on. As the stories progress, they begin to come closer and closer to just why Monica felt the need to leave her home and never come back or stay in contact with anyone. All the while Julie is becoming closer to both Aimee and Trey and beginning to think that maybe making a home for Beau and herself at River Song when it's rebuilt isn't such a bad idea. Julie has been running away from commitment her whole life because she's so scared that anything and everything can be taken away at a moment's notice but maybe now she's ready to settle down. The Beach Trees is a fantastic story! I love the way Karen White weaves a mystery in with her stories and I really enjoyed watching this story unfold and learning all the family secrets that had laid buried for so many years. I loved the characters especially Julie and Aimee. I felt they were both such caring women and I was just really drawn to them. I always enjoy the way Karen White describes the setting; complete with sights and smells. She makes sure the reader feels as though they are there experiencing everything her characters are. The Beach Trees is a novel that will capture your heart and your attention and keep you reading way into the wee hours of the morning!
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32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
interesting tale, May 6, 2011
This review is from: The Beach Trees (Paperback)
Not long after obtaining possession of a Katrina (don't mention that name in the Gulf) ravaged beach house in Biloxi, Julie Holt leaves New York for the Gulf coast. Her late best friend Monica Guidry who died from congested heart failure gave custody of her five year old son Beau to Julie as she trusted her buddy to take care of her child. Julie never learned why Monica fled her family but hopes they will welcome Beau. Elderly Ray Von Williams gives her a sealed box sent by Monica to her to give to Julie and tells her to go to New Orleans to Beau's maternal great grandmother Aimee so they have a place to stay. Inside the box is a portrait by renowned Abe Holt, Julie's great-grandfather. Aimee and his Uncle Trey welcome the New Yorker and her ward. Julie begins to learn what drove Monica from Biloxi though what she learns remains confusing. However, what she finds out reminds her of what happened to her family when she was twelve and her sister Chelsea was kidnapped. The story line contains two subplots respectively told by the prime two females; Aimee in the 1950s and Julie in the present. The comparison between the Gulf through the eyes of the native in the 1950s and that of the Massachusetts born Yankee five years after Katrina will fascinate the audience. The mystery of why Monica cut off her family who Julie believes she cherished based on the stories she shared with her lacks suspense so it is not as interesting as the tour of the Gulf past and present from Biloxi to New Orleans. Harriet Klausner
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of this author's best yet!, May 16, 2011
This review is from: The Beach Trees (Paperback)
I have read a number of Karen White's books and in my opinion, this one is the best yet. I did not find it slow moving at all, but through in examining each character and each setting. White makes is clear that the damage to the Gulf Coast from Katrina was devastating. While New Orleans suffered the aftermath of flood caused by the levee failures, the wind took its greatest toll on the Mississippi coast along with the thirty something foot tide. White is able to capture the feelings of those left to cope with these disasters, and she also shows their determination to re-build and move forward again. Someone has said, "It's the price we pay for living in paradise." White understands that and brings it out in her story. The characters are well formed and the plot of The Beach Trees keeps the reader guessing till the very last page. If you are looking for a really good read whether for the beach or the quietness of your own den, this is a definitely recommended book. Good job, Karen White, keep it up.
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