Books with Found Family Trope
Do you love books where the lost main character finds family (conventional and otherwise)? Love it when a group of friends or oddballs are knitted together into a family unit by circumstances? Are you looking for your next fiction pick or trying to decide on a novel for your book club? If so, check out the novels with a found family trope featured here on Book Club Bites. Each includes a book club guide just for you!
The Island Sisters Book Club Questions and Recipe
The Island Sisters is Micki Berthelot Morency’s debut novel. Told from the perspective of four women from the islands of Haiti, St. Thomas, and Guam, it is a story of life-long friendship held together by an unbreakable bond. When the four women meet at college, they discover their shared pasts and form a friendship that sees them through difficult marriages, motherhood, and much more.
The Thread Collectors Book Club Questions and Recipe
The Thread Collectors is a collaborative novel written by authors Shaunna Edwards and Alyson Richman. Loosely based on the authors’ family histories, the novel tells the story of two women working to support the Union effort during the Civil War. As the novel progresses, the women (a black woman in the South and a Jewish woman in the North) work to aid the Union effort through sewing and later discover how their stories are intertwined.
Josie and Vic Book Club Questions and Recipe
Sarton Award-Winning author Debra Thomas’ second novel, Josie and Vic is an examination of the sibling relationship after years and distance have caused separation.
When siblings Josie and Vic are forced back together after tragedy, the door for reconciliation begins to open. Forgiveness, and ultimately hope, slowly follow as the characters cope with their pasts and work to heal fractured relationships.
The Last Thing He Told Me Book Club Questions and Recipe
The Last Thing He Told Me is Laura Dave’s latest thriller that begins when Hannah receives the last thing her husband will ever tell her–Protect her.
A twisty thriller that takes Hannah through Owen’s unexpected past, the novel is also unexpectedly about who we chose to call family and the lengths we go to protect the ones we love.
Once We Were Home Book Club Questions and Recipe
Once We Were Home is Jennifer Rosner’s newest novel. Her first, The Yellow Bird Sings, was a National Jewish Book Award Finalist.
Once We Were Home is beautiful, moving story about the Jewish children who were displaced during the Holocaust and never returned to family, it is a little-explored area of WWII fiction. Delving into the definition of family, identity and heritage, and ultimately themes of forgiveness and peace, there is plenty to talk about for your book club.
The Call of the Wrens Book Club Questions and Recipe
The Call of the Wrens is a dual timeline story following two women who join the Wrens (the nickname for the Women’s Royal Naval Service). The first timeline follows the first group of Wrens in WWI and the second timeline follows the second group in WWII. As their stories intersect, the reader learns about these brave groups of women who served Britain in many capacities during the world wars. Interwoven in both timelines are two unforgettable love stories, friendships between brave women, and characters who battle their own internal enemies even while serving bravely during the war.
Double Exposure Book Club Questions and Recipe
Double Exposure follows photojournalist Annie Hawkins as she returns to Afghanistan in 2015 to rebuild a school for girls destroyed by the Taliban.
Set during the unstable period when the Taliban desperately tried to regain power by launching terrorist attacks against Afghans, the novel is a fast-paced, heart-wrenching tale of the people who stood strong in the face of terrorism.
The Memory Keeper of Kyiv: A Novel about Ukraine
Has your book club been searching for a novel about Ukraine? Given the devastating current events in Ukraine, you might be wishing to read more about the country and its people. If so, The Memory Keeper of Kyiv is the perfect choice.
The Memory Keeper of Kyiv is a dual-timeline novel. It follows a young woman and her family as they deal with Stalin’s invasion and the resulting famine in the 1930s and her granddaughter as she comes to term with her own losses and seeks to reconnect with her family heritage in the early 2000s.
The Italian Daughter Book Club Questions and Recipe
If you love a novel about searching for clues to the past, you’ll love The Italian Daughter, Soraya Lane’s newest novel.
When Lily receives an unexpected inheritance containing only two clues linking her to a family she’s never known, she sets out on a journey to discover the past.
Set in present day and post-WWII Italy, the novel follows Lily and her ancestor, Estee, as they navigate through difficult life choices that will both separate and eventually draw them together.
The Exit Strategy Book Club Questions and Recipe
Two women. One man. An unexpected friendship formed with the intention of revenge. You know the concept. You might even love it (I do). But, set your preconceptions aside, because while The Exit Strategy includes a similar hook, the plot is sure to surprise you. If you have worked in any type of corporate setting or male-dominated business, you need to read this book.
The Two Lives of Sara Book Club Questions and Recipe
The Two Lives of Sara is Catherine Adel West’s sophomore novel. Her debut, Saving Ruby King, released two years ago–a timely novel about a young black girl in Chicago whose mother is murdered.
The Two Lives of Sara follows a young woman in trouble as she struggles to deal with her painful past, hopeful for a better future. The novel is set in Memphis. As someone who lived in Memphis for several years, I really enjoyed reading this book. and the setting rang true to me.
A Boundless Place Book Club Questions and Recipe
A quiet novel, full of characters dealing with real grief, it reminded me of other heartwarming books that I have loved. While reading, the book offered me a similar feel to At Home in Mitford, with a little more edginess (aka tragic character pasts).
A Boundless Place is the first novel I’m featuring for Book Club Bites’ collaboration with The Best of Women’s Fiction podcast and Hasty Book List.
