It’s 1963, and Starla Claudelle is…
…a feisty nine-year-old that has a heart for righting the injustices she sees, whether it be a neighborhood friend being picked on, a dog being abused, or the presence of Jim Crow laws that still existed during her childhood. This quick-tempered, impulsive redhead always seems to find trouble and grapples with “being a lady” by her grandmother Mamie’s standards. Starla’s momma left for Nashville to pursue a singing career when Starla was just a toddler, and her dad works on a big oil rig in the Gulf, so Mamie is in charge of Starla. Mamie is strict and stubborn, all about “appearances” and wants to be seen as refined and ladylike. Starla often acts before she thinks, speaks in unrefined ways, and just wants to be loved. Their relationship is one that encounters conflict after conflict. Starla feels like she’s always on restriction. One last injustice, one last restriction, one last conflict leaves Starla feeling like she’s got to run away from her life in rural Mississippi and do what she’s dreamed of for a long time – going to Nashville to find her momma. Momma would surely be a big country star by now!
As Starla takes off on foot, she encounters Eula, a black lady with trouble of her own. Eula has a newborn baby boy with her that provides mystery to the story. She offers Starla a ride in her old rickety truck, but there are going to be many obstacles and complications that come along with these three travelling together. Starla will learn so many things about the world and about herself during her time with Eula and baby James, including a world of segregation where black people have separate, substandard facilities and services. It infuriates Starla, and she is determined to change it when she gets old enough for people to pay attention to her! Eula finds so many gifts and talents about Starla and makes her feel loved unconditionally. Starla never knew she could be so good with babies, and she finds out she’s pretty talented at making pie crusts, too. Eula brings out the best in Starla and makes her realize her worth. There is a strength and determination about this woman that is an amazing example to Starla. They save one another many times during their journey together.
Will these three eventually make it to Nashville? Starla has people looking for her from her hometown of Cayuga Springs, Mississippi, but she doesn’t realize it. She doesn’t really think anyone there would really miss her. This young girl finds her love and sense of familial belonging in places you would least expect it as the story unfolds.
Susan Crandall is an expert at using the unrefined dialect and Southern phrases of the characters in this book. There is a tension throughout this story as the Civil Rights era is burgeoning in the country and especially the southern states. “Whistling past the graveyard” is a term used for calming yourself when the circumstances around you are tense or frightening – a term so appropriate for the occurrences in this story.
This book is hands-down a 5/5 stars for me!
-Wendy Hardman
October Book and Bean Book Club Book: Killers of the Flower Moon: Adapted for Young Readers: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (October 25, 2023 at 6:oo p.m.)
The Last Bookshop in London
By Madeline Martin
Grace Bennett has dealt with some major setbacks in her short life. Her parents are deceased and life in small town Drayton with her overbearing uncle and aunt has begun to feel like a dead end. She helps out at the family-owned store and at home, but she feels stifled and unappreciated as she approaches adulthood.
These growing pains have left her searching for a new beginning. Even with the threat of war looming, Grace and her best friend, Viv, decide to move from rural England to the bustling city of London. Fortunately for Grace, one of her mother’s dear friends, Mrs. Weatherford, has a room in her London townhouse that she’s willing to offer until she and Viv can secure jobs in the city and afford rent for their own flat. Grace and Viv set about job searching. Viv, who’s got a flair for fashion, takes on work at Harrod’s Department Store where Mrs. Weatherford’s son, Colin, also works. It seems to be a perfect fit for her. Mrs. Weatherford has put in a good word to a bookshop owner, Mr. Evans, for Grace to be a bookshop assistant at Primrose Hill Books. Grace, however, isn’t too keen on books and Mr. Evans is a little cantankerous. This doesn’t seem such a perfect fit, but it’s employment. Now both gainfully employed, the young ladies begin their exciting adult lives in London!
It is 1939 and London is a city with ample opportunities for work, shopping, recreation and night life. That very soon becomes muted as German forces get more aggressive and Hitler begins his air campaign on Europe. British Prime Minister Chamberlain begins to order blackouts each evening for Londoners. All streetlights are switched off, vehicle lights are masked, and all homes and shops must have blackened windows with curtains or paper to keep German aircraft from identifying and mapping landmarks or thoroughfares in the city. It also becomes paramount that the children of London be taken to rural areas of England for protection. Young men in England are drafted or conscripted for the war, and Colin Weatherford is not exempt… neither are the eligible bachelors that may be dating prospects for Grace and Viv.
Many months go by with all of these precautions taking place, yet no signs of impending bombings. People of London become somewhat complacent, referring to it as the “bore war.” Grace and Viv settle into their jobs and Grace begins to break the ice with her boss, Mr. Evans. She begins to clean and organize the bookshop, and actually begins to enjoy reading thanks to one of their patrons, handsome George Anderson, who recommends the book The Count of Monte Cristo to her. They make plans to have a date and are both excited to become more acquainted, but circumstances will derail that. The war is closer to England than they have realized.
Then it happens… in the fall of 1940, the Germans begin bombing London. Before their date gets a chance to happen, George volunteers to serve his country. People of London are forced to go to shelters on a nightly basis. Some residents have installed small underground bunkers at their residences, but most Londoners have to make their way to a tube (subway) station for the night. Most of these nights are sleepless or restless, at best… and the air raid threats become a nightly occurrence. Grace begins to read aloud to the people in close proximity at her tube station. Each night her group of listeners grows, and they come to expect a read-aloud session while they are there. People are clinging to this as their respite during a time where they are missing loved ones away at war, children sent away to the countryside and any semblance of outside entertainment and life as they’ve known it. Grace’s stories become a light in their dark world. This remarkable young woman also takes on a second job as an ARP (Air Raid Precautions) agent. She and her night partner are responsible for enforcing the blackout laws and dealing with the aftermath of bombings within their local patrol area. They are charged with leading people to the proper shelters before an impending night of bombing (which by this time are nearly nightly), and putting out fires after a bombing occurs, many times finding the dead inside smoldering buildings. This grueling job by night, and her day job at the bookshop leaves Grace drained physically, yet more determined to plug away and keep doing positive things with her life. She endures criticism from owners of competing bookshops who feel like her improvements to Primrose Hill Books now pose a threat to their own livelihoods. Still she forges on with more plans for improvement and more advertisements for Primrose Hill. The bookshop keeps enjoying a healthy financial gain thanks to her efforts. Her boss, Mr. Evans is becoming quite attached to this energetic, hard-working girl, who reminds him of his own daughter.
Meanwhile, Viv has decided to quit working at Harrod’s in order to join the ATS, Auxiliary Territorial Service, in order to assist anti-aircraft batteries. Many women want to do their part to assist their country during wartime. Much of this work involves cooking, clerking, driving; many jobs previously held by men called away to war service. Grace and Viv have to go without seeing one another for months on end, relishing each letter received, and living up every moment they can during Viv’s precious few times at home on leave.
As the bombings on London resolve and the city’s people finally feel as though life will get back to normal, Grace and Viv feel as though their interrupted lives can now become everything they have wished for. Grace and George will finally get to have their first date after months of waiting. War has made all of them mature and has created more of an appreciation for friendships, romance and making up for lost time.
Madeline Martin is an excellent storyteller that makes you feel like you’re in the midst of historic London and experiencing the triumphs and tragedies of the characters. You will fall in love with gritty Grace Bennett and her perseverance throughout!
This book is a 4/5 stars for me!
-Wendy Hardman
September Book and Bean Book Club Book: Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall (September 28, 2023 at 6:oo p.m.)
Regretting You
by Colleen Hoover
Do you remember your first love? People often go on to marry and spend their entire lives happily with that one first love. Most of us, however, don’t. During the growing-up process we generally will realize there are separate life goals, habits that are “deal-breakers” or we simply lose that initial spark of interest in our first love.
Colleen Hoover writes a beautifully-woven tale of first loves, how some are destined to work out, some destined for heartbreak as she tells the story of two couples that are bonded for life; two sisters (Morgan and Jenny) dating two guys that are best friends (Chris and Jonah). These four teenagers do everything together from partying to lake trips and one unforgettable moment during a pool party that will bond two of them together for life.
This story mostly takes place in the future of these same four teenagers and what they’ve become in their lives. They are now in their 30s and are fully adulting with homes, bills, jobs, children…. and regrets. Hoover tells the story of a second-generation teenager, Clara, and her own budding love interest, lack of judgment and volatile relationship with her mother, who doesn’t want her to make the same mistakes she did as a teenager. After a tragic loss, Clara starts to make very poor decisions and one of them may be Miller Adams, a guy from school that she’s starting to fall for. This story navigates parental decision-making; when to intervene, when to wait it out and hope things turn around and when to let them reap their own consequences. Clara finds out things about the adults in her life that keep pushing her toward more rebellious acts until, finally something has to give way. At some point, everyone needs to be completely honest… and it will shatter Clara’s world.
Hoover builds tension throughout the entire novel that leads the reader into strongly anticipating the resolution. I appreciate that she includes some heart-warming elements; lovers that are from different backgrounds and family dynamics, a teenage boy that makes an incredibly mature decision to step away from a situation to avoid causing heartache, two people trying to spare a young girl’s feelings while taking the emotional punches she’s throwing at them as she’s yet unaware of the truth, a “bad boy” type that turns out to have the purest heart, a feisty grandpa that has the most sage advice, and a sweet little infant that will always be protected by his loving, yet unconventional family unit.
I’m on the Colleen Hoover train, for sure! I have no regrets giving this novel 5/5 stars!
-Wendy Hardman
August Book and Bean Book Club Book: The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin (August 23, 2023 at 6:oo p.m.)
The Keeper of Lost Things
by Ruth Hogan
Sweet Anthony Peardew has lost someone so dear to him. He spends his life…
…thinking about the “could-have-beens” as we so often do when we lose someone. He also becomes obsessed with collecting lost items that he would like to return to their owners – a habit similar to hoarding that occurs with some people after a tragic loss. Anthony is a famous writer of short stories and uses his collection of “lost things” to create fictional stories based on what he imagines may have been the circumstance behind their loss. As he grows older, however, he has to have a plan for this unique collection, which is very organized, sorted and labeled. Who would be an ideal heir to care for his lost things after he’s gone?
This beautifully written story involves only a few characters: Anthony Peardew; Laura, his housekeeper/assistant who has become a close friend to Anthony; Fred, Anthony’s gardener and trusted friend; Sunshine, a very social neighbor girl in her late teens that has special needs and very special gifts; and Therese, Anthony’s dead fiancée that plays a haunting role in the story. Anthony also has a name for his beloved home, Padua, which makes it feel like a character as well.
As Anthony tries to locate the owners of his lost items (everything from hair ties to jewels to a jigsaw puzzle piece to cremated ashes), the author offers actual accounts of how some of the items were misplaced. These backstories are fascinating and make you realize that some would love to have recovered their lost item. Others, however, would not even want their item back as it would bring back painful memories. In one case, the “lost” item was purposefully thrown in a gutter to inflict emotional pain on an annoying sibling!
Hogan includes a parallel storyline involving a publisher, Bomber, and his assistant, Eunice. These two have a unique relationship and the reader is left wondering throughout the book; “How are these two connected to Anthony Peardew and his friends and staff?” The author didn’t disappoint when she connected these two stories and settings at the end.
The reader is lured into empathy for a victim of unrequited love while rooting for another budding romance. The mystery behind strange, inexplicable occurrences in the house keeps the reader fully engaged. Why are doors locked when no one locked them? Why is there music playing when no one set the phonograph? Why the strong scent of roses when there are none in the room?
This novel includes some of my favorite things; trusted friendships, stories of painful pasts that have been safely put in the past, unexpected romance, a stately Victorian home and surrounding gardens, and paranormal occurrences.
I would give it a solid 4/5 stars!
-Wendy Hardman
August Book and Bean Book Club Book: The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin (August 23, 2023 at 6:oo p.m.)
The Giver Of Stars
By Jojo Moyes
We can all appreciate a beautifully woven and well-developed set of characters surrounded by…
…a theme of friendship, sacrifice and sense of purpose with a little romance sprinkled in. In February’s book club book, The Giver of Stars, author Jojo Moyes’ fictional account of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s literacy outreach in Appalachia in the 1930s offers all of these things and so much more. The reader gets an eye-opening view of socio-economic, gender and race disparities that made life difficult for many throughout Appalachia in the midst of our country’s worst economic time, The Great Depression.
The main character, Alice Wright, escapes her dead-end life in England to marry a wealthy American man she met while he was traveling abroad. An heir of the coal-mining industry, Bennett Van Cleve brings her back to America to live in his small town of Baileyville, Kentucky. Bennett turns out to be a less-than-interesting and somewhat spineless husband, and Alice doesn’t relish the fact that as a newlywed, she lives with both her husband and very controlling father-in-law, Geoffrey in the family home.
During a Baileyville town meeting to discuss a new federal program, The Pack Horse Library Project, Alice’s interest is piqued! The program is going to require librarians, primarily women, to organize and pack library books into saddlebags and deliver them on horseback up the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky into the hands of impoverished, uneducated families who have limited physical access to the town library. Although Bennett is reluctant to “let” his new wife work in such a grueling occupation and his father, Geoffrey is livid about the idea, Alice stubbornly ignores their wishes and applies to be a Pack Horse Librarian!
As the Pack Horse Library gets underway in Baileyville, Alice gains a sense of purpose with her work and her life. Little does she know that she will also gain the most incredible friendships as well.
The other leading ladies in Moyes’ novel are: Margery, who grew up in Baileyville, shows Alice around the terrain and what to expect from certain residents they will encounter. Margery is a strong-willed woman who doesn’t take any disrespect from anyone! Everyone needs a “Margery” in their lives! Sweet, young Izzy, another determined gal, learns how to ride a horse for the job despite her mobility challenges resulting from polio. Izzy’s beautiful singing voice lifts the ladies’ spirits through some harsh times during their work. Sophia, has actually been a real librarian in Louisville, and has moved to Baileyville to help take care of her disabled brother. Sophia, who is black remains at the base library to organize and reshelve books. She shows strength and dignity throughout the tragic events of the story. Beth is a farm girl that is in charge of taking care of her brothers. She wants to be a part of the Pack Horse Library program, but can’t work as many hours as the others due to her responsibilities at home.
These ladies put in long hours, in all weather conditions, traversing up steep slopes of the Cumberland Mountains on horses or mules, many times encountering hostile families that are leery and feel (at least initially) that their privacy is being infringed upon. Many soften and become more interested as the librarians teach them about how the program works and many request Bibles and devotional materials. As you can imagine, the librarians are tasked with staying and reading aloud to the family members and sometimes even teaching some of the family members (children and adults) how to read.
The coal-mining industry is the most lucrative in the town of Baileyville, and the reader gets an eye-opening account of how the “Big Wigs” cut corners, ignore safety recommendations, and demand their employees work in unimaginable conditions in order for the money to keep rolling in. There is a distinct juxtaposition of interests as these five women work hard to create better lives for those less fortunate, through literacy and education, yet many of the men in their lives are involved in the oppressive environment of the coal mines.
The main men are: the previously mentioned Bennet Van Cleve (Alice’s husband) a kind enough man, but is definitely under his father’s thumb. His financial security is reliant on his father’s coal-mining company. Bennett lacks the ability to stand up to his father, and his lack of manly qualities leaves Alice feeling more than frustrated. Sven, Margery’s sweet long-time boyfriend, works in the coal mine for Geoffrey Van Cleve, and knows plenty of secrets about the nefarious activities that go on there. He and Margery have made a life together, but she’s determined to keep things as they are – no further commitment necessary. Although Sven would love to marry her, he is compliant with her wishes and just wants her to be happy. Another heart-tugging character is Fred, a down-to-earth farmer who becomes attached to all of the Pack Horse women in a protective manner. He offers extra space in his barn for books, and provides an occasional meal or place to sleep, if it gets too late for them to travel back up the mountain to their own homes. Someone needs to snatch that man up! Finally, Clem McCollough, patriarch of one of the indigent mountain families, who is determined to keep his life and property private. He feels threatened when the librarians try to approach his domain, and will go to great lengths to keep them away from his home.
This story involves mining tragedies, family tragedies, natural disasters and a criminal allegation that threatens to ruin a young life. All the while, the ladies are making decisions about their romantic lives and what they wish for their own futures. Rife with unconditional support for their “tribe” members, these ladies emerge stronger as a group, but more importantly, as individuals!
Moyes is a gifted author that has a knack for pacing the story well and giving her readers a clear depiction of characters. She gives us just the right amount of local dialect and historical context in the dialogue throughout to open up a picture of Appalachia in the 1930s. She incorporates a gentle “push and pull” dynamic of the dilemmas encountered by the characters that keeps us rooting for, empathizing with, and in some cases loathing them.
If I were the “Giver of Stars,” I would give this book 4.5 stars out of 5!
-Wendy Hardman
July Book and Bean Book Club Book: Regretting You by Colleen Hoover (July 26, 2023 at 6:oo p.m.)
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