The Blackout Book Club : a novel /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

" The Blackout Book Club is a fabulous novel that will warm the hearts of readers everywhere. Amy Lynn Green gives us a poignant look at life on the home front during WWII and how comfort and camaraderie can be found in the shared love of books. This will be a wonderful book club read!" --MADELINE MARTIN, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London In 1942, an impulsive promise to her brother before he goes off to the European front puts Avis Montgomery in the unlikely position of head librarian in small-town Maine. Though she has never been much of a reader, when wartime needs threaten to close the library, she invents a book club to keep its doors open. The women she convinces to attend the first meeting couldn't be more different--a wealthy spinster determined to aid the war effort, an exhausted mother looking for a fresh start, and a determined young war worker.At first, the struggles of the home front are all the club members have in common, but over time, the books they choose become more than an escape from the hardships of life and the fear of the U-boat battles that rage just past their shores. As the women face personal challenges and band together in the face of danger, they find they have more in common than they think. But when their growing friendships are tested by secrets of the past and present, they must decide whether depending on each other is worth the cost. Includes a book club discussion guide and The Blackout Book Club book list"A salute to the power of books and of friendship!" --SARAH SUNDIN, bestselling and award-winning author of Until Leaves Fall in Paris "The Blackout Book Club is an engaging story that illustrates the power of books to unite and encourage us in trying times. . . . A wonderful read." --LYNN AUSTIN, author of Long Way Home

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Derby, ME is about as small-town as it gets, but the seemingly mundane residents have some secrets that may be too dangerous to share. As the U.S. enters World War II, the men start leaving to fight overseas, and the threat of German U-boats off the East Coast becomes more than theoretical. Faced with change on every side, newlywed Avis Montgomery is determined to save the town's subscription library--even though she rarely reads more than a magazine. In an effort to impress the library's reclusive owner, she establishes the "Blackout Book Club" to discuss contemporary hits and classic favorites. The club starts off small but soon draws a disparate cast of characters, including some newcomers to the insular town. Green (The Lines Between Us) nails all four voices of her alternating narrators: women knocked down by disappointment who find hope and unlikely camaraderie through the pages of a book. VERDICT This is an uplifting read for dark times, featuring strong and unique characters uniting toward a common goal. It also has crossover appeal for fans of historical fiction from Jennifer Ryan and Kate Quinn.--Christine Barth

Publishers Weekly Review

A group of women find togetherness through a book club in this tender if sluggish WWII historical from Green (The Lines Between Us). After Avis Montgomery's brother leaves their hometown of Derby, Maine, to join the war in 1942, she takes over his job as a librarian and convenes a book club to keep up morale. Green cycles through the perspectives of the club's members. There's Louise Cavendish, who inherited from her father the private library where the club meets and is contemplating shutting it down against Avis's admonitions. Rambunctious Ginny Atkinson assists her father on his lobster boat and leans on the group after suffering an unbearable loss. Meanwhile, Martina Bianchini struggles to raise her two children while her husband serves in the Navy, and her troubles deepen when she starts to suspect him of a treasonable offense. She feels ashamed that she hasn't attended church since moving from Boston several months earlier but seeks God's help when her son stumbles into danger. The characters support each other during their weekly meetings as they discuss books and forge friendships that carry them through the war. Though slow pacing drags this down, the characters' trajectories from strangers to close friends will warm readers' hearts. Bookworms will take to this. (Nov.)

Booklist Review

After her librarian brother joins the army during WWII, Avis Montgomery, not much of a book lover, reluctantly agrees to oversee his beloved library in his absence. With increasing blackout-compliance pressure in their small coastal Maine hometown and the looming threat of a library closure, Avis establishes an evening book club in an effort to save the institution. As the devastation of war marches closer to home, the club confronts its own battles against suspicion, prejudice, and dangerous secrets. What starts as a group of strangers passing the dark hours with discussions of Shakespeare and Wordsworth evolves into a cohort of unexpected advocates and friends. Green (Things We Didn't Say, 2020) presents another brilliant work of WWII historical fiction, an empowering story of friendship, community, and humanity. The book-club trope is elevated by the drama of loss during a time of war and a cast of lovably fallible characters attempting to reconcile life through literature. The Blackout Book Club reprises Green's ingenious use of a creative format as she alternates between book-club meeting minutes and sections narrated by members in a way that gives voice to the group's dynamic growth. Readers will revel in this charismatic novel of camaraderie, empathy, and the power of stories to unite us.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Amy Lynn Green has always loved history and reading, and she enjoys speaking with book clubs, writing groups, and libraries all around the country. Her debut novel, Things We Didn't Say , was nominated for a 2021 Minnesota Book Award, won two Carol Awards, and received a starred review from both Booklist and Library Journal . Amy and her family make their home in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Visit amygreenbooks.com to learn more.