Book Club Kit for The Secret Ingredient of Wishes by Susan Bishop Crispell includes book club discussion questions and party menu.
Have you heard of the book genre called "magical realism"?
Sarah Addison Allen, one of our book club favorite authors, has inspired many of us to delve into more books along similar themes:
1 part light romance, 1 part light magic, 1 part real world drama.
I'm always keeping an eye out for books that I feel would fit the bill so when The Secret Ingredient of Wishes by Susan Bishop Crispell came along, it looked like a total winner!
I'm thrilled to announce we'll be reading it for our November pick.
Peanut Blossom Book Club
This book was our official November 2017 pick for the Peanut Blossom Book Club.
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What is The Secret Ingredient of Wishes About?
"26-year-old Rachel Monroe has spent her whole life trying to keep a very unusual secret: she can make wishes come true. And sometimes the consequences are disastrous. So when Rachel accidentally grants an outlandish wish for the first time in years, she decides it’s time to leave her hometown—and her past—behind for good.
Rachel isn’t on the road long before she runs out of gas in a town that’s not on her map: Nowhere, North Carolina—also known as the town of “Lost and Found.” In Nowhere, Rachel is taken in by a spit-fire old woman, Catch, who possesses a strange gift of her own: she can bind secrets by baking them into pies. Rachel also meets Catch’s neighbor, Ashe, a Southern gentleman with a complicated past, who makes her want to believe in happily-ever-after for the first time in her life.
As she settles into the small town, Rachel hopes her own secrets will stay hidden, but wishes start piling up everywhere Rachel goes. When the consequences threaten to ruin everything she’s begun to build in Nowhere, Rachel must come to terms with who she is and what she can do, or risk losing the people she’s starting to love—and her chance at happiness—all over again."
Go grab a copy of The Secret Ingredient of Wishes here.
The Secret Ingredient of Wishes Book Club Questions
I believe the best book club questions to spark a lively discussion in your group help readers make personal connections to the story.
You can read about how to write the best book club questions on your own here, but hopefully these will get you started!
Question 1:
What did you think of the book this month? Was it something you would have picked for yourself?
Question 2:
If you could assign yourself a magical power, what would it be?
- Grant wishes like Rachel
- Bind secrets like Catch
- Charm other people like Ashe's dad
- ________________?
Question 3:
If you could have Rachel grant you one wish, what would it be? Remember to choose your words carefully!
Question 4:
What is your favorite flavor of pie?
Can you bake it or do you buy it somewhere special?
Question 5:
Why do you think the author used Catch's pies as her tool for binding wishes? Why not scented lotions or something else?
Question 6:
Catch says to Rachel: "Like I told you earlier, you've gotta trust in your ability if you want it to work right."
Does Rachel every really learn to trust herself? Or was it just all a big gamble?
Question 7:
"We're all looking for something in life. For some, it's money, others it's family, companionship, acceptance. Sometimes people get so caught up in the looking that they miss out on what's right in front of them."
- The Secret Ingredient of Wishes by Susan Bishop Crispell
Rachel spends her life looking for her brother and wishing she could undo the harm to her family.
Would she have been happier in the end if she had just clung to Mary Beth as her family and never left Nashville?
Or did the only road to happiness lead to Nowhere?
Question 8:
Were you rooting for Ashe and Rachel to get together or did you secretly think Lola should be forgiven and their marriage repaired?
Book Club Party Menu
For the book club party menu, why not have a pie tasting night with your friends? Have everyone bring their favorite pie to share:
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