In a Book Club Far Away

Military service-members are resilient—but they’re often only one half of the equation. Which is why I love that Tif Marcelo’s new novel, In a Book Club Far Away, shines a light on the other half: military spouses. Through the lives of three fearsome women, who start a book club to help weather the stress of their partners’ long-term deployments, we witness the ups and downs of life as an Army wife.

If you love books with multiple perspectives and alternating timelines, you’re in for a treat. In one timeline, Marcelo transports readers to a time long ago, when, bonding over romance and popular fiction, Adelaide, Regina, and Sophie formed a friendship that seemed capable of surviving almost any plot twist. But in a timeline years later, the women are deeply, irreparably estranged. What happened to drive these women apart? And what, if anything, can bring them back together?

As an Army brat, I found myself laughing and nodding along with every well-placed detail. (Army wives really do love their Longaberger baskets.) But more unsettling (and true to life) are the rumors that spread from the troops overseas to their spouses back home. Rumors that can alter careers and ruin lives forever. Turns out, not all is quiet on the home front. But despite the obstacles thrown their way, Adelaide, Regina, and Sophie continue to reveal their strengths. Toss in a heartthrob with a bakery, and Marcelo had me laughing, smiling, and hoping that the story of their friendship, formed within the strength of a book club, could once again turn a new page.

Regina Castro, Adelaide Wilson-Chang, and Sophie Walden used to be best friends. As Army wives at Fort East, they bonded during their book club and soon became inseparable. But when an unimaginable betrayal happened amongst the group, the friendship abruptly ended, and they haven’t spoken since.

That’s why, eight years later, Regina and Sophie are shocked when they get a call for help from Adelaide. Adelaide’s husband is stationed abroad, and without any friends or family near her new home of Alexandria, Virginia, she has no one to help take care of her young daughter when she has to undergo emergency surgery. For the sake of an innocent child, Regina and Sophie reluctantly put their differences aside to help an old friend.

As the three women reunite, they must overcome past hurts and see if there’s any future for their friendship.