Limited Edition - Summer Reading 2025 (Ready-to-Ship)

Please welcome our Summer Reading box back for its second year!   From the New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls (the very first Once Upon a Book Club selection) comes a story about two sisters living on Martha’s Vineyard during World War II. They find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club for women in this spectacular novel inspired by true events.   This year's Summer Reading box will feature a brand new, hardcover copy of The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club by the incredible OUABC alumni, Martha Hall Kelly! This box also includes a stunning, custom designed beach towel, plus FIVE wrapped gifts that will bring this powerful novel to life in a way only OUABC can create. All this will be packed inside our iconic book box in an exclusive light blue design!   We are also so grateful to Martha for writing a letter to our readers, signing matching bookplates (included in every box!), and chatting with us for a brief Q&A you'll find inside the Summer Reading Book Club Kit!  How It Works! Start reading your monthly book! Each box includes an exciting new read and your experience begins the moment you turn to page one. As you read, you'll find "Open Your Gift" sticky notes! Unwrap the gift with the matching page number and experience the book coming to life before your eyes! Chat about your reading experience with readers around the globe! Our private Facebook group is the perfect place to meet dedicated readers like you! About the Book “A dreamy beach book that also sizzles with tension... another winner by one of the best historical fiction writers around.”—Fiona Davis, author of The Stolen Queen   2016: Thirty-four-year-old Mari Starwood is still grieving after her mother’s death as she travels to the storied island of Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. She’s come all the way from California with nothing but a name on a piece of paper: Elizabeth Devereaux, the famous but reclusive Vineyard painter. When Mari makes it to Mrs. Devereaux’s stunning waterfront farm under the guise of taking a painting class with her, Mrs. Devereaux begins to tell her the story of the Smith sisters, who once lived there. As the tale unfolds, Mari is shocked to learn that her relationship to this island runs deeper than she ever thought possible.   1942: The Smith girls—nineteen-year-old aspiring writer Cadence and sixteen-year-old war-obsessed Briar—are faced with the impossible task of holding their failing family farm together during World War II as the U.S. Army arrives on Martha’s Vineyard. When Briar spots German U-boats lurking off the island’s shores, and Cadence falls into an unlikely romance with a sworn enemy, their quiet lives are officially upended. In an attempt at normalcy, Cadence and her best friend, Bess, start a book club, which grows both in members and influence as they connect with a fabulous New York publisher who could make all of Cadence’s dreams come true. But all that is put at risk by a mysterious man who washes ashore—and whispers of a spy in their midst. Who in their tight-knit island community can they trust? Could this little book club change the course of the war... before it’s too late?