When
five New Yorkers accept a mysterious, anonymous invitation to a story society,
they begin a journey they could not have imagined and didn’t know they needed.
Rachel Hauck’s five main characters arrive at a charming, historic library for
the Fifth Avenue Story Society’s first meeting on September 9. They work past
initial awkwardness, then meet weekly; and by March they have become trusted
friends. During this time, they reveal secrets that have kept them stuck both
personally and professionally.
In
The Fifth Avenue Story Society, each modern-day participant’s backstory is
compelling and each journey riveting. Hauck switches among five points of view
every few pages. Usually, an author’s changing POV drives me crazy, but in this
novel, Hauck’s doing so made the book unputdownable. I would just be falling
deep into Jett’s personal grief or steaming over Lexa’s work frustrations or
waxing nostalgic with Ed’s memories when I’d get interrupted by Coral’s
plummeting profits or Chuck’s divorce drama. I was eager to read on to get back
to progress in Jett's, Lexa's, and Ed's stories. But then I was eager to get
back to Coral's and Chuck's, too.
Challenges
for each of the five are multi-faceted. For example, Jett grapples with
multiple family issues, a failed marriage, and a moral professional dilemma.
This complexity added to my interest as well. Characters are well-rounded, and
their emotions run true. I got impatient with two of the characters’ stall
tactics, but apparently, stubbornness in relationships is one of Hauck’s themes
in this novel.
Other
themes in The Fifth Avenue Story Society include betrayal, moral compromise,
anger, guilt, grief, honesty, love, courage, cowardice, and God’s love through
Jesus Christ. The novel contains both romance and mystery. Each main character
gets set free from his or her secrets, but the reveal for each is worth the
reader's wait. The overarching mystery is who chose and invited them all to
weave their stories together.
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