"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

 Okay, this book has been on my TBR list for a loooooooooong time, and wow, it did not disappoint! I could not put it down and found myself going to sleep well past my regular bedtime wanting to read just a few more letters.

I had previously seen the film starring Lilly James (dare I say she is our generation's Julie Andrews?), but to be honest, it's been so long I did not remember much other than she looked lovely.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars 

Suitable for audiences that are comfortable with WWII material: Little to no swearing, not spicy, some violence, as it does discuss occupation, bombing, and concentration camps.

Told completely in letters, this book follows the life of Juliet Ashton, a popular author most well-known for her newspaper column that has recently been compiled into a book. While on a book tour, we learn of her friendship with Sophie and her brother/publisher Sidney, a mysterious publisher named Mark who is sending her flowers, as well as a man named Dawsey who lives on the island of Guernsey. He has written to thank her for donating a book, which included her address in the front cover, and which has made its way to him. He piques her interest with talk of a literary society on the island that began with breaking curfew, eating a forbidden roasted pig, and quick thinking by Elizabeth, the society's founder. Juliet soon becomes acquainted with more people from Guernsey and their literary society, while also being pursued by Mark. Meanwhile, Sidney is stuck in Australia with a broken leg, hearing about this all by mail.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I appreciated the illusion of a love square (not a triangle, I thought there were 3 suitors), and was appreciative when we found out Sidney had zero romantic intentions for Juliet (and vice versa), thus reverting it to a love triangle. It was hinted that Juliet and Sidney had a closer relationship than publisher and author, and I found myself confused that he wasn't more concerned that she was spending so much time with Mark. Perhaps his interest in men should have been more obvious to me, but I confess it did not occur to me until Isola writes to Sidney thanking him for confiding in her. I was most relieved that Juliet did not accept Mark, especially since many of his letters in Part 1 seemed to bully her into accepting his invitations. That's not okay. 

I too was saddened that we never got to meet Elizabeth, but I do think it was important to the plot of the story, both in the progression of Juliet's relationship with Kit as well as giving a purpose to her book about Guernsey during the occupation. I especially appreciated the full circle aspect of the decision to write another biography, since the biography about Anne Brontë is one of her earlier works and connects her to Isola as well as Dawsey (which we learn at the end).

Once Juliet is on Guernsey (Part 2 of the novel), we lose all letters from Dawsey. I have mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, it seems to fit with his character that he would not have anyone to write to in order to confide his true feelings about Juliet or Remy, so the content of his letters may have been simply asking for more books from Great Britain. However, we know he writes to Remy, and I halfway wish we had those letters. We have letters from Isola to Sidney, and one from someone who has observed Mark and Juliet together written to Sidney, so it cannot be because they authors wanted all letters to be to or from Juliet. Let's be honest, I just want more Dawsey content!

Also the second hand embarrassment and worry I got reading about Mark showing up on Guernsey and kissing Juliet in from of Dawsey was almost unbearable. Dating is hard! Talking about your feelings is hard! In the words of many, but specifically Jonathan Larson (I have the Tick Tick...Boom! soundtrack stuck in my head), "Fear or love, baby don't say the answer. Actions speak louder than, louder than words." And a makeout sesh in front of someone you're interested in is definitely shouting a loud message that does not include your true feelings.

Thank goodness for Isola's desire to be the next Miss Marple. I thought it was a clever way to communicate Dawsey's feelings for Juliet, and the proposal was also lovely, although I also wondered how Juliet would have described it to Sophie.

All in all, I was delighted by this book and enjoyed having a WWII adjacent novel, as books written in the time period have been a bit heavy for me as of late. The letter writing format was extraordinarily fun, and I am happy to now be able to agree when people recommend it as a good novel.

Discussion Questions

1. The novel is divided into Part 1 and Part 2. What changes do you notice besides Juliet's location?

2. All of this begins because Dawsey finds Juliet's book and writes to her. Do you think this is meant to be an example of the existence of soul mates or destiny? Why or why not?

3. The letter format is a unique approach. Are there any moments of which you wish we could have a fuller account?

4. Did you have any suspicions about Billie Bee? (I personally thought her name was fake at first).

5. Do you think Juliet would have ended up with Mark if she hadn't gone to Guernsey?

6. Do you think the existence of these letters published in a book is meant to imply that the characters decided to publish them as a novel? Why or why not?

7. Why do you think Amelia was so willing to let Juliet adopt Kit? Do you think her potential relationship with Dawsey swayed the village in her favor?

8. Are there any titles from the Literary Society that you would now like to explore?

Artemis by Andy Weir

Rating: 3/5 stars

Adult Content: references to sex, some violence, and a whole lot of every swear word

Spoiler alert!

This Science-Fiction novel takes place on a Lunar colony called Artemis, in the late 2080s. Our narrator is a young rugamuffin named Jasmine Bashra, Jazz for short. Welder, smuggler, genius, and the key component of a plot to overthrow Sanchez Aluminum, the current primary source of Oxygen for the colony. Offered 1 million slugs (Artemisian currency) to take out the 3 harvesters responsible for collecting ore, Jazz divises a plan to finally get rich. There's just one small problem: she's discovered before she can finish. Thanks to her EVA suit which protects her from the lack of atmosphere on the moon, she is also disguised, albeit poorly. But her moon really gets shaken up when she discovers her employer, Trond, has been murdered as well as his bodyguard for their involvement in the plot. Jazz now has to hide out, try to solve the murder, and finish the job -- all while being chased by Rudy, the lawless lawman of a lawless town, and Lefty, a hitman for the drug cartel that actually owns Sanchez Aluminum. On her team? Her father, a master welder who is picking the lesser of two evils; Svobo, a chemist and engineer who is sweet on Jazz, Dale, the EVA master who stole her boyfriend, and Kelvin, her earthside correspondent and fellow smuggler. Oh, and did we mention the new technology only feasibly creatable on the moon? Yeah, there's deception, intrigue, really great descriptions of how to properly weld on the moon, and so many possible motives for murder and sabotage it'll leave your head spinning.

Here come the nitpicky bits (with serious spoiler)

Overall, I was impressed with the science aspects of the novel. The chemistry, the welding, the engineering all had explanations and descriptions of processes. The escalation of drama was also very well-paced and left me up way past my bedtime reading "just one more chapter".  As with any novel, wrapping everything up at the end is an enormous feat. For me, it was especially difficult to swallow all the events surrounding the pointy pipe that is their ultimate salvation. Using an airlock for a prison? Lefty managing to create a feasibly airtight face mask with local materials? How did he break the pipe? Are you telling me that Jazz would just FORGET about a pointy pipe before getting into a very poppable bubble? Don't even get me started on her managing to use it for leverage before death or if her body would have remained in one piece with the sudden change in air pressure.  This whole situation made the book lose 1.5 stars for me. the other 0.5 star was for language. Not just cussing, but that there wasn't more moon slang. Any isolated population has new slang every year, she's lived here for nearly 2 decades, and this is 60 years in the future. There's gonna be more variety, especially in a first-person perspective. Just think how different High School slang is now from when you went to school.

Discussion Questions:

1. This book is written in 1st person from a female perspective. How did the author (Andy Weir) do writing from another perspective? What did you like or dislike about the narrator?

2. Many of the characters have highly technical positions or are craftsmen. Did you expect any of the positions to be different on the Moon than on earth? Why or why not?

3. We eventually learn that Jazz's coldness towards Dale is because he stole her boyfriend, Tyler, while they were dating. Why do you think Jazz is more willing to talk to Dale than Tyler?

4. What do you wish we knew about Kelvin?

5. We find out that Sanchez Aluminum is actually owned by an organized crime family. Was this surprising to you? Why or why not? Do you agree that there would not be extensive mobs or crime families in a population of 2000?

6. At the end of the novel, Lena makes the decision to trust Sanchez as chief Smelter of her new company. Would you have done the same? Why or why not? Do you think this could create an opening for a new crime family in the future?

7. Do you think Jazz should have been deported at the end? 

    If not, do you think it's feasible for her to be in charge of smuggling? 

    If so, what plan would you make for controlling smuggling?