WARM, WITTY, AND REFRESHINGLY ORIGINAL - An exquisitely written story of love, loss, redemption...and a parade.

"Rich with witty dialogue...a masterpiece full of emotion, love, warmth, and life." Seattle Book Review

"Perfect for a book club or rainy Sunday morning." Independent Book Review

"This is a book readers will find dear to their hearts...a beautifully written novel." Chicago Book Review

A TREASURE OF BOOK CLUB FICTION.

Lunch Ladies captures time and place with laugh-out-loud humor, and reach-for-a-tissue heartache, as the people of Hanley, Minnesota - living and dead - come together for a community celebration.

It's 1976 and there's a bicentennial parade in the works. Is this a task for the school district's lunch ladies? Their answer would be "no." So how is it that Crystal, Coralene, and Sheila find themselves crafting food stands to feed parade goers, come the Fourth of July?

Crystal has other things to do: matching lonely travelers from the obituaries with kind souls still living. Coralene doesn't need this nonsense. She has a home and a family, and a nephew she musts save before it's too late. Is it already too late for Sheila? Her safe harbor is a booth at Denny's on Friday nights, with the only person who might help her move beyond her past.

Peppered with wit and insight, Lunch Ladies serves up a poignant, tender, and often hilarious view of the flawed and fascinating citizens of Hanley as it portrays the absurdities of family and community life, while revealing the humanity of those who've been lost, or left behind.

If you loved Remarkably Bright Creatures, If We're Being Honest, or Lessons in Chemistry then come meet the lunch ladies; they'll warm your heart, but they may also break it.