In the book Sisters Under the Rising Sun, Norah and Ena care for a little girl named June whose mother had died when their ship, the Vyner Brooke, wrecked. After being imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp, the women and children suffered through fierce starvation and abuse. A few times in the book, the women find opportunities…
Category: Historical Fiction
Catfish Holes and Small-Town Woes
The River We Remember BY William Kent Krueger In The River We Remember, Jimmy Quinn’s body washes ashore after catfish had been feasting on it for a few days. As Brody is trying to solve the mystery of his death, the town’s restaurant owner, Angie, often sends him food. One of her specialities in blackened…
The Unsettling Presence of Porcelain
The Last Russian Doll BY Kristen Loesch In The Last Russian Doll, Tonya meets Valentin and invites him to a bakery, a move that was tone-deaf since the working class could no longer afford bread due to high inflation. Tonya intends to order cream cakes for her and Valentin, but she finds that the treats…
An Explosive Performance
The Spectacular BY Fiona Davis In The Spectacular, Marion and Nathaniel go out for dinner one night, and Nathaniel orders a cheeseburger and a side of broccoli. Marion fondly remembers how Nathaniel eats broccoli with every meal because he thinks it’s the “key to longevity.” Bring a Spectacular dish to your book club by making…
Be as Wise as Serpents & as Harmless as Doves
The Golden Doves BY MARTHA HALL KELLY In The Golden Doves, Arlette works in a small cafe in Paris’s Flower and Bird Market. The cafe only employs survivors of the Ravensbrück concentration camp. The cafe owner, Marianne, refuses to buy an espresso machine, so the small cafe is limited to coffee. In honor of Le…
Who needs murder when you have a murder?
Weyward By Emilia HarT In Hart’s book, a crow becomes the symbol of Altha, Violet, and Kate’s connection to nature. The women’s obsidian features match the crow’s glossy dark coloring. The women are not truly happy unless they are surrounded by the nature that is calling to them, particularly the forest. As a result, it…
An Arcane Bestseller
Babel: An Arcane History By R.F. Kuang Throughout the book, Robin and his friends reiterate their love for flaky, delicious English pastries. Among Robin and Remy’s favorites are scones– Robin liked his plain, but Remy preferred his with clotted cream. Decide whose team you are on by making scones with clotted cream, courtesy of this…
Unwavering Devotion in Unyielding Times
Only the Beautiful By Susan Meissner When Rosie begins working at the Calvert’s Vineyard as a maid, she begins taking cooking lessons from their French chef, Alphonse. While we may not be prepared to whip up the same ratatouille and coq au vin recipes that Alphonse was teaching Rosie, we can make this easy mini…
Everyone Dies- Bootlegger’s Edition
Hang the Moon By Jeannette Walls Sally Kincaid made sure the family business kept on running no matter what. To celebrate this novel’s Prohibition theme, we’re introducing our first drink. The Ward 8 not only sounds as political as the Kincaid Family’s life in Claiborne County, but it will make good use out of the…
The Cold Taste of Victory
Winterland by Rae Meadows Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for the chance to review this book. ** In the book, Vera gives Anya chocolate every time she comes to visit. It was forbidden for Anya to eat, but it represented a small escape from her unrelenting life. Try your own chocolate…
Baking Through Book Club 