A book cover image of title The Banned Books Club

Photo provided by Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA

Book excerpt: ‘The Banned Books Club’ by Brenda Novak

Book Summary:

For fans of Elin Hilderbrand, a riveting exploration of family, sisterhood, and the transformative power of literature. When two sisters, one a free spirit at the helm of a rebellious book club, the other a conventional woman locked in the clutches of an unhappy marriage are forced into a reluctant reunion by their mother’s illness, they must confront past ghosts that rock the entire community.

Gia Rossi was considered a bit of a rebel in her small hometown of Wakefield, Iowa ever since she challenged the gaggle of well-meaning but misguided women from the PTA who’d insisted the high school English department, drop a number of “controversial” titles from the reading list. Gia had expected her favorite teacher to stand up for the books she loved by explaining why they were so important. Instead, just to avoid a fight, he’d caved in immediately, which was what had incited her to start The Banned Books Club.

That was the first time Mr. Hart had let her down, but it wouldn’t be the last. Because of him she left her hometown when she turned eighteen and graduated. But now, with her sister begging her to return home due to their mother’s failing health, Gia will come face to face with the beloved teacher who was fired after she reported him for sexual misconduct. Gia’s return has the town divided between those who believe her and those who believe she ruined Mr. Hart’s life. Even members of her beloved book club–who’ve continued to meet virtually over the years–aren’t sure who to believe.

Gia’s homecoming dredges up a lot of pain from her past. Her relationship with her sister has always been strained but there’s no denying that Margot has taken on the burden of caring for their mother and now it’s Gia’s turn to help. She’s grateful to have the time with her mother and to come to terms with what happened to her in high school. What she doesn’t expect is for her sister to use Gia’s arrival as the opportunity to pack up her kids and leave town to escape her emotionally abusive husband. With the support of an unlikely ally, Gia is able to prove that Mr. Hart really was to blame for his own downfall, supports her mother and her sister when they need her most and finds love and a future in the town she thought rejected her.

Author Bio:

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Brenda Novak has penned over sixty novels. She is a five-time nominee for the RITA Award and has won the National Reader’s Choice, the Bookseller’s Best, the Bookbuyer’s Best, and many other awards. She also runs Brenda Novak for the Cure, a charity to raise money for diabetes research (her youngest son has this disease). To date, she’s raised $2.5 million. For more about Brenda, please visit www.brendanovak.com.