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 s..
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 a..
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 w..
