Join us for a great discussion! Each month
we will read a new title from a variety of genres and authors. New members
always welcome.
In June
we're reading The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah.
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the
Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes
an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they
will live off the grid in America's last true frontier.
Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a
tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents' passionate, stormy
relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for
her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do
anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him
into the unknown.
At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their
prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely
independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit
days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights' lack of
preparation and dwindling resources.
But as winter approaches and darkness descends on
Alaska, Ernt's fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to
fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In
their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni
and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild,
there is no one to save them but themselves.
In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and
resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern
American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska--a place of incomparable
beauty and danger. The Great Alone is
a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for
survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.
In July
we will be reading Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can't
stop talking by Susan Cain.