WELCOME TO BEACH TOWN - Susan Wiggs
William Morrow
ISBN: 978-0-06-291416-3
June 2023
Fiction

Alara Cove, California - 2008 to Present

It's high school graduation day at Thornton Academy, a prestigious private school in the beach town of Alara Cove. Scholarship student Nikki Graziola is the surprise valedictorian in a school where only the richest, most influential families send their children. Nikki, the   daughter of a local surfer, has been given the amazing opportunity thanks to her "foster" mother, Carmella. And now it is Nikki's time to shine. But there is a pall over the entire school after the death of one of Nikki's closest friends, Mark McGill, son of a wealthy local family. And, despite her impressive grades, and acceptance to college, Nikki decides to reveal to the guests what really happened the night Mark died. 

After having shaken the Alara Cove's most powerful with her revelations, Nikki knows that sticking around her hometown will be impossible. Surfing has been her life, and she's a star, so for the next several years, Nikki heads out into the competitive surfing world, falls in love, and, while not making a comfortable living, is famous. But a tragedy sends her back to Alara Cove, her father, old friends, and the very people who have not forgotten her speech at Thornton Academy.

Nikki realizes that her father, Guy, who runs an Airstream trailer park on the beach is in need of help when powerful Alara Cove leaders want to reclaim the land that he leases from the town. With the help of Carmella, and fellow "foster" sister Shasta, Nikki begins to get involved in the refurbishment of the park, knowing that her past reputation isn't going to help. She also gets reacquainted with her life-long friend, Cal, who makes no bones about how much he cares for her, and always has. Can Nikki get her life back together, keep her father from losing his business, and maintain a new relationship? It won't be easy. 

As always, Susan Wiggs has penned another page turner that reflects real life. Nikki is all too human, and all too honest. When she loves, it's all the way. But with a certain faction in her hometown town who doesn't understand honesty as she does, how will Nikki survive her latest endeavor? A true beach read, don't miss WELCOME TO BEACH TOWN.

Jani Brooks