Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey is the definition of a beach read. It’s a multi-generational women’s story about found family and small-town gossip. You’ll also love its Gilmore Girls references! Keep reading to read the author’s book industry interview with me, in which we talked about the book, her reading life, and her Gilmore Girls fandom.
Beach House Rules: Quick Summary and Review
When Charlotte’s husband is arrested for a white-collar crime, she and her daughter, Iris, lose their home, money, and privacy, thanks to a town gossip account. They move into a former B&B turned single-mom community (the “mommune”), where unexpected friendships, romances, and buried secrets emerge. It has a little bit of everything, including a light mystery and a plot twist, while remaining fluffy and a feel-good book at the same time.
It’s an excellent choice for fans of Elin Hilderbrand’s Paradise series.
The Gilmore Girls fans here will love the references to the show made in the book. I could feel the author’s fandom in its themes, so I’ve crafted my questions to her especially for us Gilmore fans!
Kristy Woodson Harvey on Beach House Rules
Gilmore Girls is about a young woman who starts over, and Beach House Rules is about several women starting over. Why did you choose a “second chances” narrative for this novel?
First, may I just say… The Gilmore Girls line of questioning is the best thing EVER. I am so excited about this! As for the second chances, I feel like there is so much pressure to be perfect, to have everything figured out, when, really, we are all constantly reinventing ourselves and evolving. Mistakes and problems are inevitable. It’s how we deal with them that makes us who we are.
Note from Jules: I love this perspective on life. We are ALL second-chancing it!
Like Gilmore Girls, Beach House Rules offers the perspectives of different generations of women in telling the story. Why did you make these point-of-view choices?
I know this sounds weird, but sometimes I feel like I don’t really choose the points of view. I have an idea, and it just becomes really obvious who we need to hear from as I start writing. Charlotte was my jumping off point because she was the one whose life was totally falling apart, who felt stuck and scared and needed help. I really wanted to explore how people outside of this mommune felt about it, and who better to have all the dishy scoop than a teenage girl? I also wanted to explore how kids are so resilient and, sometimes, even when things are falling apart, the boy they like and their favorite shoes can still take center stage. Enter: Iris. Alice didn’t come into play until about a quarter of the way into the book. We’d heard so much about her. I decided I wanted to hear from her too. It felt like the only way to know whether what all these people say about her is true.
Note from Jules: I loved all three — probably Iris the most. It just always lightens the mood to hear from a teen.
The Juniper Shores Socialite gossip posts reminded me of how the town of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls gets involved in the townspeople’s lives, for better or worse. How do you think gossip influences the narrative?
Oh, yes. I love that! That “Greek Chorus” aspect is one of my favorites in any book or TV show, maybe because I’m from a small southern town that reminds me quite a bit of Stars Hollow, and gossip is a bit of the engine that keeps things running. I played with how to achieve this, first having a nosy newspaper reporter as the Greek chorus, then some of the ladies about town. But the Instagram angle felt fun to me, and I liked creating that salacious “voice” that was harder to achieve with a real person.
Note from Jules: Wow, you brought me back to high school with the Greek chorus reference! My English teacher used to have us all talk amongst ourselves at those points in reading the plays, and it always made us laugh.
Both Gilmore Girls and Beach House Rules blend humor with heart and family drama. Why did you choose to combine these moods and tones?
I wanted the stakes to be high enough in the book to keep the pages turning, but I never want to stress out my reader. I always want to give them a book that makes them feel good, that makes them smile and where—fingers crossed—everything works out in the end!
Note from Jules: Well-achieved! As mentioned, Iris especially helps keep the mood light, as does the Greek chorus.
A shared theme in Gilmore Girls and Beach House Rules is the power of community. What role do you see community having in your book?
I dedicated this book to my summer “mommune,” a group of friends I really cherish and adore who have helped me see how much richer and more fulfilling a community makes every part of our lives. My friendships from all stages are so important to me, and I wanted Charlotte to discover for herself how much her own community could improve her life. She’s dubious about that in the beginning.
About Author Kristy Woodson Harvey’s Reading Life
What is/are your favorite book adaptation(s)?
Going way back, Matilda was one of my favorite books as a kid, and I loved the adaptation. And get this… Robin Swicord who wrote that movie is writing the movie adaptation of my book A Happier Life. How crazy is that? I LOVED The Idea of You, which was produced by Cathy Schulman, the producer who is producing A Happier Life. I also thought Elin Hilderbrand’s The Perfect Couple was so fun and well done. Oh! And Younger. Maybe one of my favorite adaptations ever!
Note from Jules: That is too crazy, and I was so excited to hear your adaptation news! What a lineup! My review of The Perfect Couple was excellent, and I can’t wait for season 2, adapting Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand. And I have a sweet spot for Younger because someone once told me I look like Sutton Foster.
What is your ideal reading spot?
On the beach. Any beach.
What are your Desert Island books?
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I could read it a million times and discover something new. Maybe the Mitford Series because, if I’m stranded on a desert island, I’m panicking. I’d need some calming influence, and those always do that for me!
Note from Jules: This was a favorite of my AP English class in high school and is a favorite of The Rory Gilmore Book Club members today, too!
What’s your favorite bookstore?
Oh, man. Just one? I have dozens, but if I’m choosing just one, it’s South Main Book Company in my hometown of Salisbury, NC! (And, shameless plug, we’ll be debuting its new event space on May 27 when we launch BEACH HOUSE RULES there!)
Note from Jules: Fun!!
What literary characters would you invite to a dinner party?
I feel like it’s cheating to say my own, but, since it’s a dinner party, I have to have Rebecca Saint James, the protagonist—and stellar hostess—of my novel A Happier Life. Francie Nolan from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn needs to be there, and can we invite Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield from Sweet Valley? I haven’t seen those girls since high school 😉 Grace from Beach House Rules needs to come too because she’s someone you want at a dinner party for sure!
Note from Jules: Oh my gosh, Rebecca Saint James is actually perfect for this! What a fun group you’ve curated here.
Kristy Woodson Harvey’s Thoughts on Gilmore Girls
Are you team Dean, Jess, or Logan?
Logan all day. I love them all for different reasons, but I thought Logan was right for Rory in so many ways. In my mind, they’re together and happy somewhere with their baby.
Note from Jules: Exactly my thoughts.
Who is your favorite Gilmore girl?
Emily! She is one of the best characters of all time, in my opinion, and she manages to both evolve over the course of the story and stay one hundred percent true to who she is. I love her always and forever.
Note from Jules: Also exactly my thoughts! I think both the character and her acting are absolutely brilliant. I don’t know how it’s possible to be terrible and vulnerable, yet she pulls it off every time and, like you said, evolves, too!
What’s your favorite episode of Gilmore Girls?
You Jump, I Jump, Jack. Weirdly enough… I hopped on Netflix last night to make sure this was the right title of the episode, and it was the episode I was on. So weird! But I love the secret society element (I have a secret society book brewing!) and the beginning of that real spark between Rory and Logan, how we see her struggling between Dean, who represents her past and, in a lot of ways, Stars Hollow and her mother, and a future where she is aligned with her grandparents in more ways. And Emily is peak Emily in this episode. Would you like a beer, Luke? It’s just an all-around great episode.
Note from Jules: In omnia paratus! I have this poster in my office. A top episode for so many. I also love that you’re in the middle of a rewatch. Aren’t we all?!
What’s your favorite book referenced on Gilmore Girls?
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn because it’s my favorite book! But honorable mention for How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Madeline, and Little Women—and about a hundred others on this list. WOW. How did they mention that many books?
Note from Jules: Excellent choices. These are four that readers in The Rory Gilmore Book Club love to pick up.
Pretty please share your experience interviewing Emily Gilmore herself, Kelly Bishop, for her book tour for The Third Gilmore Girl!
It was truly magical, and I am forever indebted to Gallery Books, my publicist, Lauren Carr, and Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh for making that happen. It was a dream of a night. Kelly is just so down-to-earth and real. She was hilarious because she truly didn’t expect people to come see her on tour. I think that event sold out in like six hours and there were TWELVE HUNDRED people on the waitlist. Twelve hundred. Anyway, she was at turns hilarious and sincere, and just everything I dreamed of. She was also super honest, and no question was off limits, which was so fun. She reminded me of the power of just putting what we want out into the universe. I think the theme of her story was that doors really can just open for you if you stay open to believing that they will. I could write a dissertation on that night… But, let’s just say, I’ll never forget it. I don’t think it’s recorded anywhere, but I have a couple Instagram posts with clips!
Note from Jules: Meeting a hero and having it turn out well… it doesn’t get much better than that. I’m going to take away that theme with me in my life. From Lauren Graham’s book tour, I took away her sentiment about being a struggling artist: “Is there enough here to keep me going?” There’s a lot to be learned from such successful female artists as our Gilmore Girls.
Buy beach house rules
Such a wonderful book! I wanted to live with them!