APRIL 2017 BOOK DISCUSSIONS

The Summer Before the War

By: Helen Simonson

Date: Thursday, April 6th, 2017 @ Harnish

Start Time: 7:00pm

It's the summer of 1914 and life in the sleepy village of Rye, England, is about to take an interesting turn. Agatha Kent is expecting an unusual candidate to be the school's Latin teacher: Beatrice Nash, a young woman of good breeding in search of a position after the death of her father. Agatha's nephews, meanwhile, have come to spend the summer months, as always, both with dreams of their own. When Hugh is sent to pick up Beatrice from the train station life, of course, changes. Here, these characters and others we come to love and root for become characters we hope and pray for when the shadow of the Great War looms ever closer to home.

 

The Book That Matters Most

By: Ann Hood

Date: Friday, April 7th, 2017 @ Harnish

Start Time: 10:00am

Ava's twenty-five-year marriage has fallen apart, and her two grown children are pursuing their own lives outside of the country. Ava joins a book group, not only for her love of reading but also out of sheer desperation for companionship. The group's goal throughout the year is for each member to present the book that matters most to them. Ava rediscovers a mysterious book from her childhood--one that helped her through the traumas of the untimely deaths of her sister and mother. Alternating with Ava's story is that of her troubled daughter Maggie, who, living in Paris, descends into a destructive relationship with an older man. Ava's mission to find that book and its enigmatic author takes her on a quest that unravels the secrets of her past and offers her and Maggie the chance to remake their lives.

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B

By: Teresa Toten

Date: Monday, April 10th, 2017 @ Village Vintner

Start Time: 7:00pm

When Adam meets Robyn at a support group for kids coping with obsessive-compulsive disorder, he is drawn to her almost before he can take a breath. He's determined to protect and defend her--to play Batman to her Robyn--whatever the cost. But when you're fourteen and the everyday problems of dealing with divorced parents and step-siblings are supplemented by the challenges of OCD, it's hard to imagine yourself falling in love. How can you have a "normal" relationship when your life is so fraught with problems? And that's not even to mention the small matter of those threatening letters Adam's mother has started to receive . . .

 

The Invisible Man

By: H.G. Wells

Date: Wednesday, April 19th, 2017 @ Harnish

Start Time: 7:00pm

With his face swaddled in bandages, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses, and his hands covered even indoors, Griffin--the new guest at the Coach and Horses--is at first assumed to be a shy accident victim. But the true reason for his disguise is far more chilling: he has developed a process that has made him invisible and is locked in a struggle to discover the antidote. Forced from the village and driven to murder, he seeks the aid of an old friend, Kemp. The horror of his fate has affected his mind, however, and when Kemp refuses to help, he resolves to wreak his revenge.