08/01/2026
Staff Pick Saturday! Denisa recommends: The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett.
If you’re looking for an immersive story with strong female characters, The Calamity Club is the one for you. It ticks the historical fiction box, taking place during the Great Depression in Oxford, Mississippi, in 1933.
Birdie is unmarried and wants to help her family, Charlie is a woman with a love-fueled mission and Meg, a scrappy eleven-year-old girl, who, despite being labelled unadoptable, refuses to let her spirit be crushed by anyone. Enter Garnett Pittman, the worst type of villain, a spirit crusher, obsessed with control and driven by religious piety.
This story beautifully showcases female solidarity and sisterhood amidst a cruel 1930s American society rife with weaponized social status and institutions that do not recognize the bodily autonomy of women or children. Despite being a thick book, the details and characters make this story a fast read.
📚Check it out! 📚
Place a hold on Calamity Club here:
https://pemberton.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S49C129585178