Book
Charmer
By Karen Hawkins
A BOOK CLUB GUIDE
1. The first book to speak to Sarah Dove is an old journal written by her ancestor, fourteen-year-old Charlotte Dove, who moved with her family to North Carolina from Massachusetts in 1702 and founded Dove Pond. What did the old leather journal want to share with Sarah?
2. Later on, as a librarian, Sarah Dove uses her gift to place the perfect book into the hands of the reader who needs it most. Has anyone ever shared a book with you that was particularly appropriate for that moment in your life? What book was it? How did it help? If you had the opportunity to give a book to someone that you love in the hopes it would help them, what book would it be?
3. As children, Grace Wheeler and her sister, Hannah, bounced from foster home to foster home until finally landing at Mama G’s house. How did Grace cope with this uncertainty? How was it different from the way Hannah coped?
4. Much of The Book Charmer centers around the definition of “family.” What was Grace’s view versus Sarah’s? How has your own view of family changed since you were a child?
5. Eighteen years later, after the death of her sister, Hannah, Grace and Mama G move to Dove Pond with Hannah’s eight-year-old daughter, Daisy. They are all reeling from the changes wrought by Hannah’s death and Mama G’s newly diagnosed illness. Why does Grace view this move as temporary? Are her expectations based in reality? In what ways are they colored by the insecurities of her childhood?
6. Veteran Travis Parker is healing from his own wounds, both inside and out. Over the course of the book, he and Mama G bond as she is losing her memory while his haunts him. What does Trav see in Mama G that appeals to him? Why do you think he finally lets her cut his hair?
7. Until newcomer Grace arrived, the Dove Pond Social Club had come to believe that their goal was not to plan the best festival ever but to “check the boxes” and mimic the previous year’s effort. This sort of stale, as-is thinking isn’t a rare event for committee structures. Have you ever planned something as a group where this happened? Could a newcomer who didn’t know the rules change things?
8. Because of Grace’s background in business, she instantly sees opportunities to sell Dove Pond to new businesses. But what does she fail to take into account? What does she learn when she visits the town archives?
9. Sarah sent Grace the book Little Women. Throughout the story, this old book sparks various thoughts Grace has about her new situation. Why do you think Little Women was the right book for Grace? What lessons do you think that particular book could teach her?
10. Sarah desperately needs to convince Grace to stay in Dove Pond, and eventually, with the help of the entire town, this happens. Are you a member of any community? What are the costs of becoming an active member of a close-knit community? What are the benefits?