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

I saw The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on a hundred best-of lists when it first came out, and after I finally got around to reading it, I was pleased that it lived up to the hype. It’s really a great story.

In 1946, author Juliet Ashton is surrounded by the damage of the war in London, and is looking for inspiration for a new book. She stumbles across a group of friends in Guernsey (an island in the English Channel), that formed a literary society to protect themselves and their right to gather after Germans begin to occupy their little island. The members of the group share their experiences throughout the war with Juliet, and she becomes fascinated by and involved in their little group.

The book is told entirely in letters, which usually annoys me but I found it to be a very good read nonetheless. Perhaps because most of the letters are written by book lovers, so they’re quite well-written! Juliet herself is a wonderful, intelligent character, and I completely fell in love with another one of the main Guernsey folks – Elizabeth. There’s a little romance (“I sometimes think I prefer suitors in books rather than right in front of me. How awful, backward, cowardly, and mentally warped that will be if it turns out to be true.” ), a lot of tear-inducing bits about the war, and some excellent spirit. It’s also definitely a book for book-lovers, as all of the main characters undoubtedly are and will inspire the reader to be, as well!