April Book Club: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

"We read books, talked books, argued over books,
and became dearer and dearer to one another.
Other Islanders asked to join us,
and our evenings together became
bright, lively times--
we could almost forget,
now and then,
the darkness outside" (p. 51).

The year is 1946. The second World War has just ended and author Juliet Ashton is touring to promote her collection of humorous essays written during the war. But she can't figure out what to write next and everything seems a bit sad and broken. Until she receives an unexpected from a Mr. Dawsey Adams, a farmer who lives on Guernsey Island. His simple request piques her curiosity and his mention of the literary and potato peel pie society that started with an illegal roast pig quickly has her writing for more information. Thus begins a long and lively correspondence between Juliet and the various members of the society. As their story unfolds and Juliet learns of their life under German occupation, her own spirits are revived and she finds friendship, inspiration, and love in the most unlikely of places. Filled with humor and heart this is a story about booklovers of all kinds and the power that books have to help us through the darkest times.

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What we thought:

Naomi Ruth: First off: I absolutely love Annie Barrows. Second off: I don't know why it took me so long to read this book. My sister, the gorgeous Rebecca, told me I would love it, but I didn't believe her because I have this problem where I assume adult books are boring and awful. Oh! How wrong I was. I laughed, I cried, it moved me. I most definitely want to go visit Guernsey now, though, in some ways, I kinda feel like I already did. Shaffer and Barrows make the island come alive and you almost feel like you've already been there. I loved this book with every potato in the world.

Jenn N: Like Naomi, I was also reluctant to read this book but I am so glad that I forged ahead and read it anyway. It took a few pages to adjust to the unique writing style as this story is told through letters. However, you're quickly sucked in and are soon immersed in this warm group of friends who survived WWII through friendship, faith, and a love of reading.

Rebecca T: I fell in love with this book a few years ago and have subtly and not so subtly been begging people to read it ever since. I love the epistolary style and it is done very well; each character has a unique voice that just makes you fall in love with them (or utterly despise them as the case may be). This really is a story about the power of books and their ability to comfort and even change lives. It is laugh out loud funny, but also so poignantly sad that I dare you to read it without shedding a few silent tears. And I was devastated to learn that Mary Ann Shaffer actually passed away during the writing of this book because it means that there won't be any more forthcoming. This is a beautiful book with a little bit of everything for everybody.

Next Month: We'll be reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Read along with us and come back next month to weigh in on our discussion!

Annie Barrows & Angie Sage

Growing up it took me FOREVER to read. And by FOREVER I of course mean I was reading competently by the time I was seven or eight years old. Since my sister was reading by three, I was highly behind. And since I knew books were awesome it felt like it took me much too long. So once I learned how to read "Go Dogs Go" I skipped right ahead to Box Car Children and beyond, missing chapter books entirely, because chapter books were for babies.

Oh how wrong I was!

Now that I am looking into possibly working with children’s literature as a career, I have started reading chapter books, a section of children’s books I missed out on. And found two of my most favorite series ever. I wish there were more books in the series, because I absolutely love them.

The first series I found was Araminta Spookie by Angie Sage. They are adorable. You may have heard of the author through her middle grade series, Septimus Heap.

Araminta lives in a creepy old mansion with her aunt and uncle. Her aunt is persnickety but lovable and her uncle (who sleeps with bats in his special turret) is kind but bashful. Araminta has a bedroom for every day of the week and absolutely loves her house. When her aunt and uncle try to sell the house Araminta is in shock and tries desperately to frighten away the family that comes to look at it. Of course, her entire plan backfires, causing the family to stay.

I love this series because the voice is absolutely real. Araminta sounds like an eight-year-old girl. She has a lot of run-on sentences, and thinks in faulty logic. She’s not a perfect heroine, being jealous at times, and breaks the rules she should probably be keeping, but she learns more about herself and grows as a person through the series.

The second series is Ivy & Bean by Annie Barrows. Annie Barrows also wrote a middle grade book, "Half Magic," but is probably most known for her work with Marry Ann Shaffer in the "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." I found the Ivy & Bean books in the bargain section while working at Borders and I absolutely loved them.

Bean (short for Beatrice) watches the new girl move in and decides she doesn’t like her. Why? Because that’s what little kids do. I know I did. The new girl is Ivy and she decides she doesn’t like Bean either. But – of course – by the end of the first book they realize they can be perfect friends and learn to get over the First Impression Syndrome.

This series also is written in a believable dialect. I love that Ivy & Bean have a great imagination and are silly and play games and get in trouble and learn how to grow up just a little bit.

What impressed me with both series is that there are strong relationships between the children and their parents (or parental figures). When they disobey their parents they get appropriately punished instead of simply being forgiven like I have seen with some series that bother me to no end. I love that both Bean and Araminta are rambunctious and a little bit crazy pants. And I love that the books are not preachy, but the children in the stories still learn lessons, just in an organic, natural way. And I loved that I, as an older child-at-heart, could still enjoy these books. Neither Annie nor Angie talk down to their audience ever, not once, but assumes that the children reading their books will be smart and capable of understanding what is going on. Because kids are smart and are capable of understanding what is going on.

I think these books are fabulous and people of all ages can enjoy them.