NNO Book Club: The Sirens

Growing up in Florida, great swaths of my childhood were spent swimming – in pools, springs, and the ocean/Gulf – so maybe it’s not surprising I had a very strong mermaid obsession. In my defense, I think an entire generation that saw Splash had the same obsession, regardless if they could swim or not.

I’m not sure our March read actually has anything to do with mermaids, but we have an exploration of sisterhood and some Australian history, which I’m not sure we’ve ever done before. For March, we are reading The Sirens by Emilia Hart.

***Book summary from Goodreads***
A story of sisters separated by hundreds of years but bound together in more ways than they can imagine.

2019: Lucy awakens in her ex-lover’s room in the middle of the night with her hands around his throat. Horrified, she flees to her sister’s house on the coast of New South Wales hoping Jess can help explain the vivid dreams that preceded the attack—but her sister is missing. As Lucy waits for her return, she starts to unearth strange rumours about Jess’s town—tales of numerous missing men, spread over decades. A baby abandoned in a sea-swept cave. Whispers of women’s voices on the waves. All the while, her dreams start to feel closer than ever.

1800: Mary and Eliza are torn from their loving home in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship heading for Australia. As the boat takes them farther and farther away from all they know, they begin to notice unexplainable changes in their bodies.

A breathtaking tale of female resilience, The Sirens is an extraordinary novel that captures the sheer power of sisterhood and the indefinable magic of the sea.

***This month's restaurant selection***
We are back to a long-time favorite - California Pizza Kitchen. Lots of great options to choose from and they offer their lunch duos on Saturdays. You can check out their menu here: https://www.cpk.com/.

***Not sure about book club or never been to one before? ***
Read the book (or some of the book). Come to the Meetup. Eat yummy food and chat with folks about what you thought about the book. REPEAT!

***Not sure where to get the book? ***
All books we select have a decent number of copies (at least 3-4 across all formats) at both the Hillsborough and Pinellas County Library. And, of course, you can always buy a copy.

***Didn’t finish/hated this book?***
Come to the Meetup anyway! If you didn't finish - just be aware, there will be spoilers. If you hated it, come and rant! In my experience, the books that generate the best conversations and the books we really love are rarely the same books.