Fellowship Point is a special book. It is one that will resonate with those who love long (almost 600 pages), involved and involving stories. The characters are fully fleshed out and I often felt that I wanted to speak with them, to comment on their life choices and, indeed, to be a part of their lives. The sense of place and concern for the environment were also big draws. Readers will find themselves around Philadelphia, in Maine and New York City.

Interestingly and unusually, two of the books most important characters are in their 80s; Agnes and Polly are lifelong friends who followed different paths and trajectories. Agnes never married. She is the successful author of a book series for children that has become iconic. The “Nan Can” titles, written and illustrated by Agnes, have always portrayed girls as capable; now, they are being studied academically. Agnes is not sure that she is interested. Under a pseudonym, Agnes has written a series of adult novels that portray the lives of women who live on Philadelphia’s Main Line. She wants to finish the last in the series but is suffering from writer’s block when the story opens.

In contract to Agnes, Polly has diligently followed the rule book on being a good wife, mother and homemaker. She has abnegated her own needs and wishes (which she may not always even know), to those of her husband and progeny. Polly’s husband is a self-absorbed professor who profoundly lack insight. He wants Polly present whenever he wants her but also feels free to ignore her whenever that suits him.

There is also a young woman, Maud. She is in her 20s, has a three year old, and works in publishing. She hopes to complete a project with Agnes. Her life is also three dimensional in its presentation. Maud has a precocious child and a mother with mental health issues.

Around these central characters are many others whom readers will get to know over a period of years. This novel travels back and forth in both time and viewpoint. Central is the issue of preserving a very special peninsula in Maine. Not all have the same goals for it.

I very highly recommend this engrossing novel. It may just be my best book of the summer.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Scribner, and Simon and Schuster for this title. All opinions are my own.

“Fellowship Point,” by Alice Elliott Dark, Scribner / Marysue Rucci Books, 592 pages, July 5, 2022.

Celebrated children’s book author Agnes Lee is now 80 and has been diagnosed with cancer for the third time. She lives in Philadelphia and spends summers in Maine.

She has written six novels and more than 30 children’s books, which she also illustrated. Agnes wants to complete the final volume of her Franklin Square novels written under the name Pauline Schulz, but has writer’s block.

She also wants to permanently protect the peninsula of majestic coast in Maine known as Fellowship Point, which is a bird sanctuary. Loose Properties, owned by Hamm Loose and his sons, is buying land for development. The Point is owned in shares by three families.

Her lifelong best friend, Polly Wister, has led a different kind of life. Polly is devoted to her husband, Dick, a philosophy professor and noted pacifist. They have three adult sons. Polly, much to Agnes’s frustration, invariably defers to her husband. Polly soon finds her loyalties torn between the wishes of her best friend and the wishes of her family, but what is it that Polly wants herself?

Meanwhile, Maud Silver, a single mother who is a book editorial assistant, sets out to convince Agnes to write her memoirs, not realizing Agnes is also Pauline Schulz. Maud’s mother, Heidi, who has a mental illness, lives with Maud and Maud’s daughter, Clemmie, 3. The novel goes back to the 1870s, when Agnes’s family went to Maine.

“Fellowship Point” is a contemplative book. It is good, but long and slow-moving. It is the character-driven story of women who are lifelong friends and how their lives were so different.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Beautifully written and deliciously slow moving, Fellowship Point is the story of a lifelong friendship, the people who weave in and out of it, the problems, successes, sadness and laughter.

Agnes: a feisty, intelligent, independent woman who has never married. She’s the successful author of a children’s series about the adventures of Nan, a feisty, intelligent, independent (sound familiar?) girl. Agnes has also, under a pseudonym, written novels about the lives of a group of women at different times in those lives. She’s based these, somewhat unflatteringly, on her friends. Now at 80, with recently diagnosed breast cancer, she wants to leave the five houses on Fellowship Point, Maine to a land trust so its remote beauty can be preserved.

Polly: married to the pedantic overbearing Dick, mother of three sons, she’s intelligent and sensitive but has been submissive to the men in her family. Agnes has been her best friend as long as she can remember and as she has aged, she’s learned to assert herself. Now her sons are pressuring her to refuse the land trust so they can inherit, and possibly sell, the property.

Maud: an ambitious young book editor, single mother of a three year old daughter and caregiver to a mentally ill mother. Maud wants Agnes to write a memoir revealing the inspiration behind Nan. She will use it to publicize a reissue of the series and to use the expected success to be promoted. Agnes has other ideas.

Fellowship Point is the perfect book to start on a lazy summer day. The story is told in the voices of the three woman, in flashbacks and in letters. Agnes and Polly have lived very different lives but their friendship has stayed constant. This is family drama at its best. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and Alice Elliot Dark for this ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this lovely novel and spending time with Polly and Agnes. it's a book that will appeal, I think, to women of all ages who appreciate good writing and a well told story.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Agnes and Polly are lifelong friends who grow up near a sanctuary that their families own along with other parties. In their 80s. Agnes comes up with a plan to save the land. Polly approves of the plan, but there are complications with family members. Drama ensues.

Add to that drama, Agnes is a writer with a secret writing career on the side. She meets an editor who is fascinated with one of her characters only to discover there is more to the fascination than meets the eye.

Great characters and wonderful story lines.

Fellowship Point will appeal to dedicated readers across age groups because of well-developed characters spanning several generations. Alice Dark is certainly an accomplished author who pens a mesmerizing tale that is heartfelt and uncompromised through the lives of Agnes and Polly. The value of women and their friendships is prevalent throughout the book Thanks for sharing this title on Net Galley.

Excellent story! Totally engrossing!. Looking forward to reading more by this author! Could not put this down!

I was drawn to this book because of Maine and the lives of Quaker families in the 1870s. Agnes wants her Fellowship Point property to be placed in a conversancy trust and is committed to dissolving an agreement where the land will be developed. It's a story of friendship and saving the land for future generations.

I kept thinking that this book felt really long, and I noticed on here after reading it that it was almost 600 pages, so that explains why. I have no problem reading a longer novel when I'm interested in it, but unfortunately this wasn't the case. However, I also don't think I was the target demographic for this novel and can see my grandmother enjoying it. I did likeAgnes' spirit and her friendship with Polly.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.