Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Beaches

Beaches
Beaches
Author: Iris R. Dart
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
Ladyslott avatar reviewed A rare time when the movie is better on + 113 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4


Having seen the movie Beaches more times than I can count, I was looking forward to the book. I am therefore sorry to say that I didnt like it that much.
The basic story stays the same: Cee Cee Bloom and Bertie White (Hillary in the movie) form an unlikely friendship when they are 10 and & 7 years old (respectively). Through many years and personal hardships they remain friends, until a tragic illness brings them together.

What didnt I like about this book? Cee Cee Bloom is not a very nice person in this book, and I found it hard to really care for her. In the movie Bette Midler gives her a clear vulnerability that wasnt apparent in the book. It also seemed to me that the author had Bette specifically in mind while writing the story, as if it were already a screenplay in her head. The character of Bertie was whiny and sad. I wanted more than once to say: Come on woman get on with your life!!, but it never seemed to happen. The clichéd fate of one of the male characters was kind of been there done that and I expected more from the author.
Nevertheless, because of fond movie memories the book scored extra points, thats why it gets a high 3***.