This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Glamorous debutantes, heartbreak and discovering just what is worth fighting for in the new historical novel from Sunday Times bestseller Adele Parks, If You Go Away, our next Novelicious Book Club Pick.
1914. Vivian, a young, impassioned debutante is hurried into a pedestrian marriage to cover a scandal. War breaks out on her wedding day – domestically and across Europe. Quick to escape the disappointment of matrimony, her traditionalist husband immediately enlists and Vivian has no alternative than to take up the management and running of his estate – after all, everyone is required to do their bit. Even pretty, inadequately-educated young wives.
Howard, a brilliant young playwright rushes to the front to see for himself the best and the worst of humanity; he cannot imagine what the horror might be. In March 1916, when conscription becomes law, it is no longer enough for him to report on the War, it’s a legal requirement that he joins the ranks. Howard refuses, becoming one of the most notorious conscientious objectors of the time. Disarmingly handsome, famous, articulate and informed, he’s a threat to the government. Narrowly escaping a death sentence by agreeing to take essential work on Vivian’s farm, it’s only then Howard understands what is worth fighting for.
We’ve already dipped into this beautiful novel and it’s quite the pager-turner.
So, how do you take part in The Novelicious Book Club? Simply grab a copy of If You Go Away by Adele Parks and read along with us, sharing your thoughts in the comments of this post or on Twitter using the #NoveliciousBookClub hashtag (we’ll retweet our favourites).
Once you’ve finished the book, you can send a brief 100 word review to kerry@writingtipsoasis.com for potential inclusion in a preliminary book discussion, which will be published here on Novelicious on Monday 14 November. We’ll also be sharing some of the most creative participation from the month (your tweets, images and videos) and a series of discussion questions ahead of an hour-long #NoveliciousBookClub chat on Twitter and Facebook at 8pm that evening.
You can read an extract of the book here, visit Adele’s website, or pop along to say hello on Twitter and Facebook.