• Author: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
• ISBN: 978-0385341004
• Publisher: Random House
• Release Date: May 5, 2009

This is the first book I have read on my Kindle!  It was very easy and fun to do. I would definitely recommend the Kindle!  This month a friend in my book club suggested that we read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.  I enjoyed reading this book through the technique of letters going back and forth among the characters. The story takes place in 1946 when there were many countries recovering from WWII and its effects.  Along with the main character, Juliet, we discover what happened on the tiny island of Guernsey during the German occupation.  (The island is a real one that sits in the English Channel between France and England.)  As Juliet discovers more and more about the people of Guernsey, we experience their warmth and their resilient spirit.  The book is easy to read and has many funny stories, as well as tragic ones, about the families in Guernsey.  It is a fictional account, not factual.

Juliet is an author who receives a note from a Guernsey farmer named Dawsey Adams.  She is eager to write about the effects that the war had on the people of Guernsey.  Through letters she is invited by the people who live there to come and stay with them.  This visit has a life-changing effect on her.  Her whole world transforms before our eyes as the book unfolds.

Maybe parts of this book are predictable, but it is no less enjoyable to read. The use of letters throughout draws us in and helps us to piece together what each person/character is like. Without a doubt, the book shows that if we are open to new things, we can make a change and affect those around us—for the better.  This theme is truly a timeless one; no matter how drastically our methods of communication may change because of technology, we are still looking for the ultimate goals of happiness, friendship, and a place to call home.