The NYT has been all over The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett lately. I loved The Help and was excited to pick this one up. Since I added it to my library list before it was available there, I seem to be the first one to get it. While it was very long and I almost gave up between 15 and 25%, I am so glad I didn’t. It was a wonderful and interesting story that I very much enjoyed. Amazon: “Abandoned by her mother one Christmas Eve, eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Now one of the unadoptable “big girls” at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, she fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed. Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford to ask her socialite sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind. But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie discovers her sister’s seemingly charmed life is a tapestry of lies. Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman running low on luck with little left to lose. When their fates—and Meg’s—converge, Charlie comes up with an audacious plan for them to take control of their lives. But in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife and women’s freedom is fragile, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences.” I really enjoyed The Calamity Club. My only complaint was the length and the difficulty I had getting into it. I am very glad I stuck with it!