"Carol, a young and progressive librarian living in St. Paul, Minnesota, falls in love with and marries Will Kennicott, a doctor who dreams of returning to the small town of his childhood. Carol agrees and they move to Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, a town modeled on Sinclair's own hometown of Sauk Centre, Minnesota. Carol is disappointed by the town's drab appearance and it's provincial, small-minded inhabitants. Brimming with optimism and tenacity,...

The novel follows the lives of eight Vassar graduates, known simply to their classmates as "the group." An eclectic mix of personalities and upbringings, they meet a week after graduation to watch Kay Strong, the first of the group, be married. After the ceremony, the women begin their adult lives--traveling to Europe, tackling the world of nursing and publishing, and finding love and heartbreak in the streets of New York City. Through the years,...

On a beautiful June day in 1965, a dozen girls-classmates at a picturesque Blue Ridge women's college-launched their homemade raft (inspired by Huck Finn's) on a trip down the Mississippi. It's Girls A-Go-Go Down the Mississippi read the headline in the Paducah, Kentucky, paper. Thirty-five years later, four of those "girls" reunite to cruise the river again. This time it's on the luxury steamboat, The Belle of Natchez, and there's no publicity....

"It's the summer of 1964, and recent college graduates Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear read the writing on the wall and enlist to serve in the Vietnam War. As they catch a few final waves in California before reporting for duty, a sudden storm assaults the shores and capsizes a nearby cargo boat. Walt and Henry jump to action, but it's soon revealed by the police who greet them ashore that the sunken boat carried valuable contraband from underground...

"Cara Rutledge returns to her Southern home on the idyllic Isle of Palms. Everything is comfortingly the same, yet each detail is rife with painful memories. Only through reconnecting with family, friends, and the rhythms of the lowcountry can Cara release the hold of the past and open herself to the possibility of a new love, career, and hope for the future. Meanwhile, her niece Linnea, a recent college graduate who doesn't know where her life will...

In Cathy Holton's winning novels, the popular author sketches insightful portraits of women even as she displays a rare talent for balancing humor and heartache. Beach Trip finds four middle-aged friends convening at a beautifully appointed beach house-and reexamining their lives.

"Meredith Parker has made the journey to Bolton, her twins' college, dozens of times. This weekend, though, is different. Dawn and Cody are about to graduate and move away to separate corners of the country. Meredith is proud of her kids, and she's proud of herself for helping them get this far. She just never expected the tidal wave of emotions sweeping over her--or the tangled family dynamics complicating everything. Meredith doesn't miss her cheating...

Doctor's aspiring wife schemes to civilize and beautify a small Minnesota town.

"In search of meaning amid America's sedated upper-middle class, a cynical college graduate forgoes medical school and moves to inner-city Chicago. When he falls in love with a woman uncompromisingly devoted to her community, he finds himself caught between two lives, one he does not want and one he cannot have" -- Page [4] cover.