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Book Club Synopses November 2022-March 2023

A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving.  Nominated by Gwen Dillow.

 Goodreads rating: 4.24   Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Coming of Age   Published 1990

Eleven-year-old Owen Meany, playing in a Little League baseball game, hits a foul ball with devastating consequences.  Owen doesn’t believe in accidents; he believes he is God’s instrument.  At times a comic, self-deluded victim, but in the end the principal, tragic actor in a divine plan, Owen Meany is a most heartbreaking hero.

The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey.  Nominated by Renee Winchester

Goodreads rating: 4.12   Genre: Historical/Contemporary Fiction, Romance   

Published March, 2022

This novel follows four women across generations, bound by a beautiful wedding veil and a connection to the famous Vanderbilt family. The story brings to life a group of remarkable women forging their own paths, and explores the mystery of a national heirloom lost to time. 

French Braid by Anne Tyler.  Nominated by Ann Bronsing    Published March 2022

Goodreads rating: 3.8   Genre:  Historical fiction/Contemporary Fiction, Generational family

Full of heartbreak and hilarity, this is an uncannily insightful novel of tremendous warmth and humor, which follows the Garrett family over multiple generations.  It illuminates the kindnesses and cruelties of our daily lives, the impossibility of breaking free from those who love us, and how close—yet how unknowable—every family is to itself.

Marrying the Kechups by Jennifer Close.    Nominated by Christy Ehrenreich.

Goodreads rating:  3.7   Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Humor   Published April, 2022

Here are three things the Sullivan family knows to be true:  The Chicago Cubs will always be the underdogs; historical progress is inevitable, and their grandfather, Bud, founder of the family restaurant, will always make the best burgers in Oak Park.  But when, over the course of three strange months, the Cubs win the World Series, Trump is elected President, and Bud drops dead, suddenly everyone in the family finds themselves doubting all they hold dear. How can any of them be expected to make the right decisions when the world feels sideways, and the bartender makes such strong cocktails?

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  Nominated by Vicki Helling

Goodreads rating: 4.5         Genre:  Historical Fiction/Contemporary Fiction, Romance  Published 2017

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life.  But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Monique, whose personal life is not at a great place, is determined to use the opportunity to jumpstart her career. As Evelyn’s story unfolds, they become connected in unexpected ways.

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult     Nominated by Nancy Mattingly        Published 2016

Goodreads rating: 4.3       Contemporary Fiction, Race, Judicial System  

Ruth Jefferson is an experienced labor and delivery nurse.  During a routine checkup on a newborn she is reassigned to another patient because the white supremacist parents don’t want a black nurse to touch their child.  When difficulties arise, Ruth finds herself in legal proceedings being represented by Kennedy, a white female lawyer who is supportive and sympathetic. Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other’s trust, and come to see that what they’ve been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.