July Book of the Month

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

Juliet Ashton is a 30 year old single author of war stories who becomes exhausted of writing about the positive side of war and it's consequences. This novel begins in 1946 when Juliet decides to write her publisher to inform them of her feelings about the stories she writes. Meanwhile, in the quaint town of Guernsey farmer Dawsey Adams locates a used book with Juliet's name in it. Dawsey begins to gather stories from neighbors and sends the stories to Juliet. Letter after letter, Juliet regains her passion for writing about war stories and learns about the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society that had formed while the Germans occupied Guernsey. Each story of heroic efforts and the overall setting of the spirit of Guernsey inspires Juliet's life and her next novel. (Librarian Reviewer: Olga)

The was Mary Ann Shaffer's first novel written with her niece Annie Barrows. Mary Ann passed away February 2008 prior to the completion of the novel. She was a well known editor, librarian and booksales representative.

Discussion Questions

1) Why do you think Juliet began to feel tired of her writing war stories?

2) Do you enjoy writing stories? What inspires you to write?

3) What was your favorite Guernsey war story?

4) How did you feel about Dawsey Adams?