We’re holding our monthly book club with an online meetup on Monday, September 4. Sign up on Team Snap to join us.

We’ll discuss The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan.

Discussion questions

1. How are Gwendoline, Audrey, Nell, and Zelda different? Do they have any traits in common?
2. Which character did you most relate to and why?
3. Who did you feel had the most pivotal transformation, and did her shifts feel realistic?
4. The novel has many themes — second chances, hope, family bonds, and overcoming adversity. Which themes resonated with you the most?
5. How does the time period inform the characters’ interactions and decisions throughout the book?
6. What role do wealth and status play in the characters’ perspectives on life and each other?
7. Discuss how you feel about the ending. Is it satisfying? If so, why? If not, why not, and how would you change it? What do you think will happen next to the main characters?
8. The setting of WWII England is intrinsic to The Kitchen Front. Discuss the ways in which the setting functions as a character in the novel and how each of the human characters relates to it.
9. Compare this book to others we have read. Is it similar to any of them? Did you like it more or less than the other books? What do you think will be your lasting impression of the book?
10. What do you think the author’s goal was in writing this book? What ideas was she trying to illustrate? What message was she trying to send?
11. What scene would you point out as the pivotal moment in the narrative? How did it make you feel?

Summary

Two years into World War II, Britain is feeling her losses: The Nazis have won battles, the Blitz has destroyed cities, and U-boats have cut off the supply of food. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front is holding a cooking contest—and the grand prize is a job as the program’s first-ever female co-host. For four very different women, winning the contest would present a crucial chance to change their lives.

For a young widow, it’s a chance to pay off her husband’s debts and keep a roof over her children’s heads. For a kitchen maid, it’s a chance to leave servitude and find freedom. For a lady of the manor, it’s a chance to escape her wealthy husband’s increasingly hostile behavior. And for a trained chef, it’s a chance to challenge the men at the top of her profession.

These four women are giving the competition their all—even if that sometimes means bending the rules. But with so much at stake, will the contest that aims to bring the community together only serve to break it apart?