Golden State
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After signing her divorce papers, Dr. Julie Walker receives news that her younger sister, Heather, has gone into labor, and sets out to be at her side -- no easy task since the streets of San Francisco are filled with tension and strife. Today is also the day that Julie will find herself at the epicenter of a violent standoff in which she is forced to examine both the promising and painful parts of her past. Golden State takes readers on a journey over the course of single, unforgettable day -- through an extraordinary landscape of love, loss, and hope.
The streets of San Francisco have erupted into chaos. Today is the day that Californians vote on whether or not to secede from the United States. Today is also the day that Julie Walker will be forced to examine both the promising and painful parts of her past: her Southern childhood; her romance with her husband, Tom; her estrangement from her sister Heather; and the shattering incident that led to her greatest heartbreak.
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I received a pre-release copy of this book for free through a GoodReads FirstReads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
When I first picked up Golden State I was immediately intrigued, a lot confused, and a little scared because the plot has so much work to do. The story is set in one day in a near future San Francisco, and it is definitely not your ordinary day. You are immediately thrown into the fire, and by the end of the first chapter you know the following:
1) Julie is a doctor. Julie's sister is in labor, and she has to get to the other side of the city to deliver the baby.
2) Julie's ex-friend/boyfriend/thing is angry and hostile and is holding people in her hospital hostage while demanding to speak with Julie.
3) Julie's divorce may or may not be finalized today.
4) Today is the day of the vote for California to secede or not secede from the United States. Therefore, vandalism, robbery, rioting, police blockades, etc. abound.
5) Julie and her husband used to have a son, and Julie's sister is the reason that they don't anymore.
Ok. Breathe.
The story is told in 3 parts: Now, earlier that morning, and the back story. Each chapter switches to a different time all told from Julie's point of view. Sounds confusing but really it's not since the chapters are short and begin with which time frame you are in. I've never read any other books written this way, and in my opinion it was great organization (go editor!). It created a lot of suspense and really kept the story moving.
Throughout the story you learn how Julie met and fell in love with her husband, how they had a son, and how they lost him. You learn about her childhood in Mississippi and how she fulfilled her dreams of “escaping” the South to become a doctor. And you learn about her strained past relationship with her sister and the new relationship that develops.
To me, there are a lot of parallels between the author's life (Richmond grew up in Laurel, MS and now lives in California) and Julie's life, so I feel like she uses her character as a soap box in some parts - she paints a picture of the South being a place that everyone wants to escape (I love the South even though I no longer live there), and she uses the secession issue to portray her own political views. So the book seemed preachy in some parts, but not to an overwhelming extent.
Overall, this is a very entertaining read with a good but not too neatly wrapped up ending. However, the story was lacking in the emotion department until the very end. I just wasn't quite as invested in the characters and their outcome as I wanted to be. I would say the book was mostly a sequence of events, although a very entertaining sequence of events.
So there you have it.. Golden State is released on Feb. 4 (MY BIRTHDAY!!) if you want to give it a shot.
This review is also posted on Great Minds Read Alike.
