The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (2018)
When her father impulsively moves the family to mid-1970s Alaska to live off the land, young Leni and her mother are forced to confront the dangers of their lack of preparedness in the wake of a dangerous winter season.
It became obvious to our book group that Alaska’s winter season was not the only danger Leni and her mother faced. Leni’s father was abusive toward her mother. The group wavered between having complete contempt for the father and trying to understand his point of view as a veteran of the Vietnam War who experienced Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. It made for much lively discussion. 👍 Available in ebook & audiobook on Libby; in audiobook on Hoopla
Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah (2016)
Trevor Noah’s memoir of growing up the son of a black mother and white father in South Africa during apartheid.
The bulk of Noah’s humorous but sobering story takes place while he was living in South Africa trying to navigate life in a country where he felt like he didn’t belong. His memoir was a good book club pick that generated an interesting discussion about resilience, race, motherhood, and keeping a positive outlook on life. 👍 Available in ebook on Libby
We Were the Lucky Ones, by Georgia Hunter (2017)
A novel based on the true story of the Kurc family that somehow survived the Holocaust and should not have.
Learning that she came from a family of Holocaust survivors. Hunter’s novel was the result of her search to uncover her family’s remarkable history. Our book group agreed how difficult it was to follow the characters’ separate lives and their names–but it was a minor detail. Personally, I drew a family tree for myself to keep them straight. We admired the author for her time-consuming pursuit of her family’s history to the ends of the earth. 👍 Available in ebook on Libby
Vox, by Christina Dalcher (2018)
Set in a United States in which half the population has been silenced, a harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter.
Vox is the book to read after The Handmaid’s Tale. Marginalized in a near-future America where the government limits women to no more than 100 spoken words daily, before outlawing women’s education and employment altogether, a former doctor resolves to be heard for the sake of her daughter. As in The Handmaid’s Tale, women are subjugated, but in this case if a female speaks more than 100 words in a day she receives a shock from her clamped-on bracelet. I enjoyed the plot of the story, but the book group as a whole thought it was too unpleasant and just more of the same. 👎 Available in ebook & audiobook on Libby
The Seven Husbands of Eleanor Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017)
The novel tells the story of a fictional Old Hollywood star Evelyn Hugo who is ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life.
At the age of 79, Evelyn decides to give a final interview to an unknown hand-picked journalist, Monique Grant. Monique is not exactly on top of the world; her husband has left her, so she uses this opportunity to jump start her career. The reader does wonder why Monique was chosen, but you’ll have to read it to find out. Was it worth it to our book group? Not really. If anything, we decided the story would have been more engaging if it had been about a real person like Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor. Then, perhaps, we would have been more sympathetic. 👎 Available in ebook & audiobook on Libby
The Stranger in the Woods, by Michael Finkel (2017)
The true account of Christopher Knight who, at age 20, disappeared into the Maine woods and lived a solitary life for the next 27 years.
This book garnered a lot of conversation at our book club, as some wondered if it was even possible for a person to go without human contact for such a long span of time. Discussion ensued as to Knight’s state of mind, the attitudes of the nearby residents from whom he stole food and supplies, and what would become of his life after he’d been discovered. A fascinating story. 👍 Available in ebook on Libby
America for Beginners, by Leah Franqui (2018)
A bittersweet and bighearted tale of forgiveness, hope, and acceptance.
Pival Sengupta has done something she never expected: she has booked a trip to America. But unlike other upper-class Indians on a foreign holiday, the recently widowed Pival is traveling thousands of miles from Kolkota to New York on a cross-country journey to California, where she hopes to uncover the truth about her beloved son, Rahi. Our book group enjoyed talking about the culture clashes experienced throughout the book, and were glad to have a group member who had lived in India available for questions. The happy ending was not unexpected, as most of the group felt that while Pival’s husband and culture might be unforgiving, the recently enlightened Pival could only love her son in the end. 👍 Available in ebook & audiobook on Libby; in ebook & audiobook on Hoopla
Educated, by Tara Westover (2018)
Westover traces her own experience as a child born to survivalist parents in the mountains of Idaho.
The author describes her participation in her family’s paranoid stockpiling activities from the time she and her siblings were brought into the world. She worked hard to escape that life with a resolve to educate herself, earning acceptance into a prestigious university and learning to navigate the unfamiliar world beyond. Our book group was in disbelief that this was described as a survivalist Mormon family, and that what Westover described really did happen. Comparisons were made to Jeanette Walls’ The Glass Castle and, disturbing as it was, we were glad we read Westover’s story and happy for her that she rose above it all. 👍 Available in ebook & audiobook on Libby
Circe, by Madeline Miller (2018)
A retelling of the story of Circe, the enchanting sorceress from Homer’s Odyssey, from her point of view.
Familiarity with Greek myth and adeptness at remembering many characters certainly helps when reading this book. I enjoyed the fleshed out portrayal of Circe and some members cheered her fortitude amidst ridicule, but others struggled to keep up with the storyline and maintain interest. A mixed bag. 👍 👎 Available in ebook & audiobook on Libby
Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee (2017)
A saga spanning four generations of one family bound together as their faith and identity are called into question.
In early 1900’s Korea, prized daughter Sunja finds herself pregnant and alone, bringing shame on her family until a young tubercular minister offers to marry her and move with her to Japan. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan’s finest universities to the pachinko parlors, readers experience what it would be like to be Korean immigrants in 20th-century Japan. Our book group loved reading about the struggle of the Korean characters trying to fit into Japanese society. We also enjoyed talking about the role of women in both countries. 👍 Available in ebook & audiobook on Libby
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (2017)
The novel focuses on 29-year old Eleanor, a social misfit with a traumatic past.
Nothing is missing in Eleanor’s carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact. Weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. Our book group liked this odd character even though Eleanor is not your typical heroine–she lived in foster homes because she was abused by her mother. But after surviving that, she lives on her own and she works a job, day in and day out. So is she fine? Not really. She drinks to dull the pain she feels inside. But–she can be very, very, funny, and we loved her observations about other people. We had compassion for the character and loved laughing with her…not at her. A good read! 👍 Available in ebook & audiobook on Libby
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, by Patrick Radden Keefe (2019)
The story of an abduction and murder in Northern Ireland during the time of The Troubles.
While the premise is about the presumed murder of Jean McConville by the I.R.A, Keefe weaves in an excellent overview of the time period and its aftermath. Regardless of where your sympathies lie, the issues generate interesting observations and points of view. Well received by participants, this is a book club winner. 👍 Available in ebook & audiobook on Libby