The California Dreamers

It’s 1980s California, and everyone’s dreaming of the endless summer: sun-drenched beaches, infinite waves, and most of all, beautiful, beautiful freedom. For the Merrick siblings, this idyllic vision is their reality, as they travel up and down the coast with their parents in a van year-round, surfing and swimming their days away. But when a photographer secretly snaps a stunning photo of the family lined up with their boards in the sand, and the image ripples across the country, the only life they’ve ever known is put at risk.

Decades after, the now-distant siblings gather on a gorgeous, wild island to honour their late father. But their reunion is complicated when a journalist, eager for the truth behind the famous photo, discovers their identity and tracks them down. As the siblings reckon with the possibility that more of their lives could be shared, a revelation about their past forces them to confront long-held heartaches. Together, they’ll have to decide whether to let the same tensions rip them apart again — or if telling their story on their own terms might just be the way to recapture the family magic.

The California Dreamers by Amy Mason Doan captures the essence of those sunlit days and the complexities of family bonds, revealing whether they will shatter or strengthen under the weight of their shared history.