Energized by changes in careers and romances, the ladies of NOVEL WOMEN book club transition from their tumultuous summer into autumn. Free from societal expectations they soon discover that this sage stage of life doesn’t come with instructions.
Sandwiched between their parents and children they look to each other to help navigate this confusing period. Hanna’s sister is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness forcing her and her controlling mother under the same roof; Ava extricates her reluctant mother from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria where she’s reacquainted with a neighbor’s son; Charlotte grapples with her boyfriend’s ex-wife’s looming presence and hostile children; Madeline senses something isn’t quite right with her husband’s business associate and friend; Bri flounders returning to work after a twenty-year hiatus as she searches for purpose when her children leave for college; and Staci is more interested in the condensation of her drink at a singles event she attends with Charlotte than meeting any of the men. She longs for her evasive Vermont farmer.
The six women buoy each other up to ride out these storms with an abundance of wisdom, resilience, strength, and —yes, —love. After all, book club is so much more than just reading.
Our book club, Between Friends, has been together since 2004. Five women from our book group collaborated and wrote NOVEL WOMEN. A book written by a book club about a fictitious book club. As long-time book clubbers, we’ve experienced an empowering sense of camaraderie and invested the novel with that spirit. We know that women and book clubs will recognize and share that companionship and we invite them on this journey of acceptance, friendship and love.
When middle age hits – its hits hard. Marriages fall apart, children leave for college, and jobs disappear. The six women of Novel Women stand at this crossroad in their lives when book club goes on hiatus for the summer.
Through their summer of confusion and rediscovery, heartache and loss, these Novel Women manage to grow closer by the ever-enduring power of love and friendship. And along the way they have the best sex of their lives.
Happy New Year – 2024! What a better way to start the year – rebirth and resilience with our first book club of the year.
“The Stars Are Fire,” by Anita Shreve is a captivating historical novel that takes readers on a journey through love, resilience, and survival. Set against the backdrop of the devastating 1947 Maine wildfires, the story follows Grace Holland, a young mother whose life is forever changed by the destructive forces of nature.
The novel explores the complexities of relationships and the strength of the human spirit. Grace’s character undergoes a profound transformation as she grapples with loss, adversity, and the need to rebuild her life from the ashes – literally.
The book successfully transports readers to 1947 and the fires that devastated a large section of Maine. The wildfires become a powerful metaphor for the challenges and opportunities that arise in the face of tragedy.
The narrative balances suspense and introspection. Shreve skillfully weaves together the personal and the universal, exploring themes of love, sacrifice, and the indomitable will to survive. The pacing keeps the reader engaged, and the story unfolds in a way that keeps you eagerly turning the pages.
As a book club we felt that the author’s character development of Grace was the real strength of the book as we watched her again and again rise from the ash. It’s about resilience of the human spirit and the capacity to find hope in the darkest of times.
None of us knew about the fires in Maine and that’s one of the reasons why we really enjoy historical fiction. We learn something.
Anita Shreve’s “The Stars Are Fire” is a compelling and emotionally resonant novel that explores the impact of natural disasters on the human psyche.
The title alone had us intrigued The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Immediately Elizabeth Taylor came to mind (but she actually married eight times – married Richard Burton twice). Plus, we had read Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel Malibu Rising last spring and enjoyed it. When we like a book, we look at other novels that author has written. And just like the first book we were smitten.
When Evelyn Hugo, an aging star, who can still work a room, a movie set, and anything else she so desires, wants you to write her memoir – what’s a journalist to do? Monique Grant is shocked when Evelyn asks her to not only write her memoir but to keep all proceeds from its sale. Monique is just starting her career and not a well-known entertainment journalist or author. Anyone would jump at this astounding offer, and she does with apprehension. Why me? (Of course, there is a reason – you’ll find out at the end).
Evelyn is all charm but with an edge. We follow her on her journey to stardom. As her darkest secrets are laid bare and the story concludes we are once again shown that no one has it all. We all suffer. We all grieve. We all do not get what we want. It’s about making the best of your live regardless.
We really liked this book. We had fun visiting old Hollywood. And appreciated how hard it must have been for so many to live their authentic lives. We talked about Elizabeth Taylor and about the tragedy of Marilyn Moore, among others. We loved the fact that Evelyn wasn’t perfect. She did some stupid things. Some bad things. Who doesn’t have flaws?
And by the way: Our book club has absolutely picked Harry as our hands down favorite husband. Although….(don’t want to ruin the story).
Shelby Van Pelt’s novel Remarkably Bright Creatures is a story about healing and finding love again.
After her husband dies, Tova Sullivan works keeping her home in tip-top shape and takes a job at Puget Sound’s Sowell Bay Aquarium cleaning and talking with the creatures of the sea. Her favorite is an octopus named Marcellus. Staying busy helps quiet the 70-year-old’s mind from wondering about her son, Erik, who died at eighteen from suicide. Tova never believed the coroner’s ruling.
Her friends don’t understand why she mops floors at the aquarium when she has plenty of money. Tova has a steely determination to live her life her way and on her own. She even refuses all offers of help when she decides to downsize from her childhood home.
The novel keys in on another character, Cameron. A thirty something, down-on-his-luck young man looking to find his father and get money for all the child support payments never made to his mother. His mother suffered from mental illness and left Cameron with her sister to raise. Abandoned, Cameron can’t get his act together. Without a stable family, his ability to form secure attachments always falters and his relationships fall apart. Frustrated about his life, he leaves his hometown to find his father from a picture he found in his mother’s belongings. Cameron arrives in Tova’s town – coincidental?
Love – it’s what we all crave. It doesn’t always come in the Prince Charming package. And slowly, Tova Sullivan, let the pain of her incredible losses subside and allowed moments of affection, caring and love back into your life.
And let’s not forget about Marcellus – the octopus. If you happened to listen to the book, the narrator was amazing. Everyone at my book club loved this character.
We genuinely enjoyed this book. It’s a feel-good-happy book and it’s always nice to have a smile on your face when you finish a novel. We discussed the general theme of the book – healing. Everyone has people they loved who have passed away and the difficulty of grieving. The deeper the love you have for someone – the longer the time you will mourn them according to a grief counselor I spoke with. We also discussed love of family and friends and the great comfort they can bring.
As part of the fabulous Pulpwood Queens our book club gets to discover lots of different books and their authors. During the last Girlfriend’s Weekend, I met quite a few. One author was Lesley Kagen who wrote Whistling in the Dark. I’ll have a few more posts on other discoveries from that Weekend as my book club reads them.
The author is quite the entrepreneur. She’s also an actress, voice-over talent and a restaurateur. Where she finds the time…. Her book Whistling in the Dark takes me back to my own childhood. We were pushed out the door by 9 am on Saturday and expected back for dinner around 6. Somewhere in the neighborhood we would grab a p&j at someone’s home around 1. We were unsupervised and left to our own devices. We made up games and entertained ourselves with made up stories and adventures. No one worried about child predators.
The novel introduces us to the O’Malley family in the summer of 1959 in Milwaukee. Sally O’Malley had promised her father on his deathbed that she would look after her sister Troo and keep her safe. But life had other plans. Sally’s mother had remarried an alcoholic and was in the hospital battling cancer. The stepfather abandoned Sally, Troo and their older sister Nell. Food was scarce and so was big-sister, Nell, who was more interested in her boyfriend then her sisters.
Sally’s ten-year-old imagination goes into overdrive as two young girls go missing. She is convinced that her sister Troo will be next. Sally is spooked by all the attention a local cop is giving her and thinks maybe he’s the murderer. The tale spins as we follow the story through the eyes of this bright, inquisitive young girl.
My book club loved this book. We talked about the freedom of our childhoods. No supervision, going from one neighbor’s home to the next with no thought of danger. No scheduled play dates. We discussed the difference between our childhoods and our children’s. We all loved the detail and richness of this story. We felt like we were there running in the neighborhood or bicycling down by the lake. But the story really highlights the vulnerability of the children of this (our) era.
Pick up the book for your book club. It’s fun to reminisce.
As you know, I love nothing more than wandering up and down the aisles of a bookstore. The scent of vanilla flowers and almonds tickles my nose as I open the cover of the first book. Savoring the aroma, I read the book summary and flip through the pages. I continue this several times until I can’t carry any more books and bring them to a bench or table for another round of reviews trying to decide what to buy. It was on a day like this as I strolled through the bookstore that I realized I also needed a book for book club. I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers and those aren’t necessarily good conversation starters. I try to have suggestions ready for our next book at our meetings. Sometimes a member requests a certain book, but mostly I choose the books. It’s hard picking just the right book you think everyone will like. However, I think one of the best things about book club is that you read books that you would have never read on your own.
With my books selected, I took another spin around the bookstore and picked up Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us. I liked the cover. After reading the summary, I knew this would be perfect. Two very interesting people are introduced, Lily Bloom, independent, intelligent, running her own business and Ryle Kincaid, a handsome neurosurgeon. What could possibly go wrong?
The first time Lily and Ryle have a traumatic scene I thought okay – maybe – don’t like it, but I can overlook it. We are all flawed and make mistakes sometimes. Right? Again, I think the author did a good job with pacing in this book. Can we all see ourselves forgiving a one-off mistake? So, life continued as it did before. Then….
Hoover’s skillful writing is key to this novel. Traumatic situations are not easy to write about and keep your reader entertained and not disgusted.
I don’t want to give away the story line, so I’ll tell you what the ladies at my book club thought. First, they all liked the book. Second, we all agreed that we would have given him another chance, even maybe two. Again, her pacing was excellent. Third, we talked about times in our lives when we gave another chance to someone and those outcomes. The only thing some of the women wanted to see was Lily doing what the author’s mother did.
At the end of the book, the author writes about her own familial abuse and how that helped her create such a remarkably tender but also painful look at a difficult subject most of us try to ignore. Make sure you read about the author’s mother. Standing alone without the benefit of someone in the wings makes Ms. Hoover’s mother a hero to me.
Our book club was honored this month to host author, Mally Becker, and her new book – The Turncoat’s Widow: A Revolutionary War Mystery.
We so enjoyed reading her book that we were thrilled to be able to ask her questions about where she came up with the idea for a strong female lead in America’s revolutionary war. The seed of the story came about when Mally was looking through Morristown National Historical Park archival letters and she found a copy of an indictment for the crime of traveling from NJ to NY without permission or passport.
So began her writing journey. And we were so glad she did.
The story begins with the death of the Philip Parcell. He had been held prisoner and was tortured by the British who were looking for a list of informants. Before his death, he told a fellow prisoner (Daniel) to contact his wife, Rebecca and have her sell the list to General Washington.
Daniel escapes and goes in search of Rebecca. All is not well for her at home. She struggles to maintain their farm and must deal with hostile townspeople who think she’s a turncoat and threaten to take her farm away. She has wanted nothing to do with this war but finds herself square in the middle of it by the time Daniel finds Rebecca. Washington tasks both with finding the list. In turn, he will safeguard her farm and grant it to her if she prevails.
There’s a lot going on in this novel but it’s an exciting read with believable and interesting characters throughout. Plus, we all learned a bunch of things about women in that time period and about the war itself. Well researched. Your book club will love it.
Some of us have either been to or have heard about parties that get way out of control especially in our younger years. Taylor Jenkins Reid takes this idea and juxtaposes it with the break down of a family in her latest novel Malibu Rising.
Four siblings living together in Malibu are preparing to host their annual epic party. There’s Nina, the oldest and the glue that holds the family together after their mother died, then Jay, Hud and the youngest Kit, still in high school. They are the children of legendary singer Mick Riva (think Frank Sinatra).
Every hour leading up to the party we are given glimpses into the siblings past and present. With the clock ticking preparations are speeding up and so is the story’s tension as we learn all about the father that abandoned his children to fend for themselves and the extreme sacrifice that some made to keep the children together.
The party destroys the binds to their past enabling each of them to rise up and become the adults they were meant to be.
Our book club enjoyed the book. It’s a fast read with great tension. We talked about how Nina gave up her teenage years to become a mother to her siblings. Her willingness to sacrifice for the good of the family. How that probably wouldn’t happen in today’s world and what a lost that would have been for them. We also talked about the responsibilities of parents. And then we talked about some crazy-ass parties we’ve been too. We think you’ll enjoy this book.
Coben brings Win, Windsor Horne Lockwood III, out of mothballs and onto center stage in this self-titled adventure. Even though Coben’s books don’t lend themselves to great discussions at book club, we all love them. And it’s good to read something fun and enjoyable. Besides he’s a Jersey boy.
How a family can lie to cover its secrets? Win gets involved in a case with connections back to his family. He peels back the layers of lies and coverups and discovers a tragic truth. A painting belonging to Win’s family had been recovered at a home where a man was killed. Win has no idea who the man is or how he got that painting. Then the dead man turns out to be a member of a radical left group responsible for the killing of seven people decades earlier. Already intrigued, he becomes obsessed when his favorite cousin’s kidnapping around the same time is connected.
I prefer Win as Myron Bolitar’s sidekick. The two complement each other to perfection. Myron’s grounded character gives Win some great comic moments and curbs his egomania to somewhat acceptable levels. Win in a whole novel is a lot to take.
Our book club talked about the decisions made by family members and how they can affect several generations – the sins of the father, so to speak. We also talked about how lies grow and take on a life of their own. Fun read but not great discussion.
Living through a disaster like the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s is unimaginable. But we have become accustomed to nature’s fury. Every one of us has experienced the terrible destruction and the aftereffects of tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanos, earthquakes, tsunamis, fire, and/or flooding. So, we have a deeper appreciation for what those people went through especially after this last year of Covid. The duration of that disaster was catastrophic, however, lasting a decade. Farmers lost their property; towns lost their citizens as the tragedy continued year after year. People took refuge in California – 2.5 million people left Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas. The refuges were called okies and lived in shantytowns working for pennies a day.
The Dust Bowl exposed a nasty side of nature and of us. The scientists/farmers managed to fix the problem with the land, but have we fixed our humanity. The author has used this historical setting to tell the story of a brave and lonely woman in this bleak backdrop.
The protagonist, Elsa Wolcott, goes from one bad situation to another beginning with her unloving parents. She is friendless and insecure. How could she not be? Her family casts her off without a second glance. Her life is one bad turn after another. She earns respect and love through these hardships. We cheered her on and wanted that fairytale ending for her and well – you’ll have to read the book.
Our book club read The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah right after we had all been vaccinated. It was our first time being all together since the following summer. We were so excited to see each other again that discussion of the book was unfortunately minimal. We liked the book because the author grabs you right from the beginning and doesn’t let you go. We talked about the difference in how people handle the Covid crisis and how the Californians dealt with the refugees. In our small part of the world, people were compassionate and caring and helped each other during Covid. This book illustrates just how bad society can be. We agreed that more empathy would help all of us be better human beings.
Glennon Doyle’s unique gift of relating the moments of her life in an upbeat remarkable way keeps you turning the pages till the very end like an encouraging sermon on a Sunday morning. “If you are uncomfortable – in deep pain, angry, yearning, confused-you don’t have a problem, you have a life. Being human is not hard because you’re doing it wrong, it’s hard because you’re doing it right. You will never change the fact that being human is hard, so you must change your idea that it was ever supposed to be easy.” It’s hard but it’s so worth it.
Our book club picked this book as we were coming out of the pandemic for its optimistic tone. We were weary of the bad news, the politics and the negative vibe streaming off everything. Unfortunately, we still zoomed our meeting, which is never the same as being in person.
Some of the members didn’t like the book. They felt it was too preachy. Others didn’t like the underlying politics. But most of us thoroughly enjoyed the book.
As we are all empty nesters now, we have past the stage of parenting children and all their activities. We are out of the community spotlight – so to speak. It’s a different stage and we’d love to see what Doyle writes when she’s at our age. We’ve been there and done that. Not all of us have come to the same understandings through our experiences but we are trying to see issues from different points of view. Age is good that way.
During our discussion, some of us talked about the pain/issues we were presently undergoing, and some told stories of past issues. When you feel comfortable to share its a great way to unload some of that heavy baggage and we all have baggage. After all, book club is always good for sharing and cleansing and some books really inspire good communication. This one did.
