Synopses & Reviews
We Walker women were born screaming into this world, the beginning of a lifelong quest to find what would quiet us. But whatever drove us away was never stronger than the pull of what brought us back....”
When Vivien Walker left her home in the Mississippi Delta, she swore never to go back, as generations of the women in her family had. But in the spring, nine years to the day since shed left, thats exactly what happensVivien returns, fleeing from a broken marriage and her lost dreams for children.
What she hopes to find is solace with Bootsie,” her dear grandmother who raised her, a Walker woman with a knack for making everything all right. But instead she finds that her grandmother has died and that her estranged mother is drifting further away from her memories. Now Vivien is forced into the unexpected role of caretaker, challenging her personal quest to find the girl she herself once was.
But for Vivien things change in ways she cannot imagine when a violent storm reveals the remains of a long-dead woman buried near the Walker home, not far from the cypress swamp that is soon to give up its ghosts. Vivien knows there is now only one way to rediscover herselfby uncovering the secrets of her family and breaking the cycle of loss that has haunted them for generations.
Review
“[White] describes the land and location of the story in marvelous detail...[This is what] makes White one of the best new writers on the scene today.”—The Huffington Post
“The Beach Trees has beach in the title and has an ocean setting, but its more than just a ‘beach read. Its a worthy novel to read any time of year—any time you wonder if its possible to start anew, regardless of the past.”—Durham Herald-Sun
“Tightly plotted...a tangled history as steamy and full of mysteries as the Big Easy itself.”—Atlanta Journal Constitution
“Sense of place is high on the list of things that White does exceedingly well...But place is more than mere setting in this novel; it is also a character, as tenacious and resilient as the people who call this region home...I give this book my highest recommendation.”—The Romance Dish
“White has once again written a novel that is both heart-wrenching and heartwarming, and is filled with all the gentle nuances of the graceful, but steadfast, South...Readers will find Whites prose an uplifting experience as she is a truly gifted storyteller.”—Las Vegas Review-Journal
“Whites ability to write a book that keeps you hankering for more is her strong suit. The Beach Trees is a great book about the power of family and connection that you wont soon forget.”—South Charlotte Weekly
“White...weaves together themes of Southern culture, the powerful bond of family, and the courage to rebuild in the face of destruction to create an incredibly moving story her dedicated fans are sure to embrace.”—The Moultrie News
Review
Praise for New York Times Bestselling Author Karen White
“[A] dedicated artist...Karen Whites talent is ripe for the taking.”—The Huffington Post
“Whites dizzying carousel of a plot keeps those pages turning, so much so that the book can—and should be—finished in one afternoon, interrupted only by a glass of sweet iced tea.”—Oprah.com
“Family relationships worthy of a Tennessee Williams play.”—fayobserver.com (Fayetteville, NC)
“Whites ability to write a book that keeps you hankering for more is her strong suit. The Beach Trees is a great book about the power of family and connection that you wont soon forget.”—South Charlotte Weekly
“White...weaves together themes of Southern culture, the powerful bond of family, and the courage to rebuild in the face of destruction to create an incredibly moving story her dedicated fans are sure to embrace.”—Moultrie News (SC)
Synopsis
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Tradd Street novels comes a story that takes one woman on a journey into a secret past, and a life she never expected...
From the time she was twelve, Julie Holt knew what a random tragedy could do to a family. At that tender age, her little sister disappeared--never to be found. It was a loss that slowly eroded the family bonds she once relied on. As an adult with a prestigious job in the arts, Julie meets a struggling artist who reminds her so much of her sister, she can't help feeling protective. It is a friendship that begins a long and painful process of healing for Julie, leading her to a house on the Gulf Coast, ravaged by hurricane Katrina, and to stories of family that take her deep into the past.
CONVERSATION GUIDE INCLUDED
Synopsis
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Tradd Street novels comes a story of one woman's journey into a secret past--and a life she never expected on the ravaged coast of Biloxi, Mississippi.... Working at an auction house in New York, Julie Holt meets a struggling artist and single mother who reminds her very much of her missing younger sister. Monica Guidry paints a vivid picture of her Southern family through stories, but never says why or how she lost contact with them. And she has another secret: a heart condition that will soon take her life.
Feeling as if she's lost her sister a second time, Julie inherits from Monica an antique portrait--as well as custody of her young son. Taking him to Biloxi, Mississippi, to meet the family he's never known, Julie discovers a connection of her own. The portrait, of an old Guidry relative, was done by her great-grandfather--and unlocks a surprising family history....
READERS GUIDE INCLUDED
Synopsis
From the bestselling author of After the Rain, Sea Change, and The Color of Light...
From the time she was twelve, Julie Holt knew what a random tragedy can do to a family. At that tender age, her little sister disappeared-never to be found. It was a loss that slowly eroded the family bonds she once relied on. As an adult with a prestigious job in the arts, Julie meets a struggling artist who reminds her so much of her sister, she can't help feeling protective. It is a friendship that begins a long and painful process of healing for Julie, leading her to a house on the Gulf Coast, ravaged by hurricane Katrina, and to stories of family that take her deep into the past.
About the Author
After playing hooky one day in the seventh grade to read Gone With the Wind, Karen White knew she wanted to be a writer—or become Scarlett O'Hara. In spite of these aspirations, Karen pursued a degree in business and graduated cum laude with a BS in Management from Tulane University. Ten years later, after leaving the business world, she fulfilled her dream of becoming a writer and wrote her first book. In the Shadow of the Moon was published in August, 2000. This book was nominated for the prestigious RITA award in 2001 in two separate categories. Her books have since been nominated for numerous national contests including another RITA, the Georgia Author of the Year Award and in 2008 won the National Readers’ Choice Award for Learning to Breathe.
Karen currently writes what she refers to as ‘grit lit’—southern women’s fiction—and has recently expanded her horizons into writing a mystery series set in Charleston. Her tenth novel, The Lost Hours, will be released in trade paperback by New American Library, a division of Penguin Publishing Group, in April 2009.
Karen hails from a long line of Southerners but spent most of her growing up years in London, England and is a graduate of the American School in London. She currently lives near Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and two teenaged children, and a spoiled Havanese dog (who appears in several of her books), Quincy. When not writing, she spends her time reading, singing, playing piano, chauffeuring children and avoiding cooking.