January 2025

Ten Beach Road

By Wendy Wax

DISCUSSION DATE: 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 9, 2025
LOCATION: The Elusive Grape, 129 N. Woodland Blvd, DeLand, FL 32720

About the Book

Madeline, Avery, and Nikki are strangers to each other, but they have one thing in common. They each wake up one morning to discover that their life savings have vanished along with their trusted financial manager—leaving them with nothing but co-ownership of a ramshackle beachfront house.

Madeline Singer is a homemaker coping with empty-nest syndrome and an unemployed husband. Avery Lawford is an architect, or was, until she somehow became the sidekick on her ex-husband’s TV show. And professional matchmaker Nikki Grant is trying to recover from her biggest mistake.

Throwing caution to the wind, the three women take on the challenge of restoring the historic beach house to its former glory. But just as they begin to reinvent themselves and discover the power of friendship, their secrets threaten to tear down their trust and destroy their lives a second time.


This Month’s Icebreaker

What’s your favorite book or movie from childhood?


Discussion Questions

  • How do the challenges faced by Madeline, Avery, and Nikki reflect the broader economic struggles of their time?
  • Which of the three women’s personal journeys did you find most compelling, and why?
  • How does the beachfront house itself serve as a metaphor for rebuilding and transformation?
  • How did the friendships among the women evolve over the course of the story?
  • If you inherited a crumbling beachfront property, how would you tackle its restoration?