A reunion between 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 the early 1980s and their years together at a small Southern liberal arts college. Mel, a mystery writer living in New York, contends 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 the regrets of her youth behind her. And Lola, sweet-tempered and absent-minded, 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 idyllic North Carolina beach house in an attempt to relive the carefree days of their college years. But as the week wears on, and each woman’s hidden story is gradually revealed, they find they must inevitably confront their shared past; a failed love affair, a discarded suitor, a betrayal, and a secret that threatens to change their bond, and their lives, forever.
Darkly comic and deeply poignant, Beach Trip is an unforgettable tale of life-long friendship, heartbreak, and happiness. - FROM THE AUTHOR SITE
FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Loved these girls! Reminded me a bit of me in each and a bit of some of my own old gal pals. As an alumnae of an all girl’s liberal arts school myself in the south (North Carolina even… 
) I understood the camaraderie between the different personalities that you might not typically place together. Holton had a way of creating that. She gave each their own personality, their own struggles, and of course their life-long friendship. I was glued when we went through the college flashbacks and laughed in the present thinking of how stupid I’ve acted with my girls. I wanted to hug the girl who was going through turmoil and shared the concern for the other. Beach Trip was not your typical "chic-lit" as I thought it would be. It felt so real and as if I was one of those girls on that very beach trip. Holton shares with us each of their secrets others may not have expected yet you expect it. It makes you wonder…if you could go back, would you have done things differently?
If you get a chance, stop by TLC Book Tours where you can check out the "Summer Reading" discussion on Beach Trip and more discussion on Beach Trip.
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I loved it too!
I’ll be reading this next and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m also trying to figure out where you went to school.
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Great review! I’m also wondering where you went to school!
I’m glad you liked the book and really appreciate all the time and effort that went into reading and reviewing it. Thanks so much for participating in the tour!
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My last 2 years of highschool I went to Saint Mary’s School on Raleigh,NC which at the time was an Episcapalian (sp) boarding prep school for girls of their jr/sr year and a jr.college. I was there 3 yrs and then transferred into Meredith College for women in Raleigh, NC (which my relatives by marriage had founded).
today though St.Mary’s is a just an all girl prep school grades 9-12. I still live in the Raleigh area and my daughter who is 9 swears that when she is old enough that is where she wishes to be. 
Wow…so many typos and grammar issues above! That’s what I get from responding via my blackberry! Lol
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