DNF @ 50%. Honestly, the story wasn't bad, but it moved slower than molasses. There were also too many timelines and POVs for me to feel engaged.

This book was not for me. I could not relate with the characters and just too many characters to keep tract of, some with very similar names

LUNCH LADIES by Jodi Thompson Carr is a story of a small town community… the lives of those who live there and those who passed away there. It touches on loneliness, loss, relationships, work environments, family and the importance of community.
I found it to be a slow starter and I actually hard to restart it 3 times because it wasn’t grabbing me and I thought I must have missed something. Unfortunately, it never gained the momentum that I look for to make a book hard to put down and that could be because my recent reads have been thrillers.
I do that think this book could be thrown into the hat for a book club pick where the readers are older and enjoy this type of genre. I’m interested to see what Jodi Thompson Carr writes next.

Thank you for this eARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op in exchange for my honest review.

This book takes me right back to my childhood in the 1970s. Set in Hanley, Minnesota Jodi Thompson Carr transports you back to a simpler time. Three ladies, lunch ladies, are in charge of food tables at the end of the 1976 Bi-Centennial Parade. They work extremely hard to make this a great function for their town. This book is about the parade but it's also about family and the relationships the women have. This is such a great read. I had a hard time putting it down and I was terribly sad when I came to the end. I wanted more. Sometimes you read something and it just sticks with you. This is one of those books. You won't be disappointed if you read this gem of a book.

Well written and easy to read. A touching story with very likable characters. Perfect read for a lazy weekend, will make you laugh, cry and smile.

This debut novel showcases a small American town in the 1970s, focussing on 3 lunch ladies from the local schools and their preparation for the bicentennial parade. So much detail has gone into the characters and their lives, with themes of family and what constitutes friendship. The writing was easily accessible, however, for me the pace of the events was very gentle and the story unfolded quite slowly.

Thank you Century House publishing and NetGalley for the Arc.

Set in small town America in the 1970s we read about three ladies and their families, and a parade celebrating America. The preparations that go into it, the wholehearted participation and the work involved and then the personal troubles that our part of the ladies lives.

Crystal, Coralene and Sheila do not think it is their duty to handle food stalls in the parade, but when asked to participate they do so very willingly. Each of them have quirks. Crystal scans the obituaries and tries to match the dead with a living person (sounds eccentric in the extreme but its very matter of fact in the book). Coralene has a family and a nephew she has promised to look after, guide and protect and she takes those duties seriously, and Sheila lives in the past with no friends except one. She doesn’t like interaction and anyone getting even marginally close.

The characters were very real, heart warming and practical.

The premise of the book involves three unique women who work in a school district nutrition office who are told by memo that they must participate in the towns 1976 bicentennial parade. Each woman has her own backstory and family issues. The women's individual quirkiness gets lost midway in the novel. Many new characters are introduced--so many that the reader could benefit from family trees. The original plot somehow gets lost in a sea of names and characters, requiring the reader to be patient with the story line. Nonetheless, the story is entertaining.

Thank you Century House Press and NetGalley for an ARC in return of my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and the characters . The three main characters , the Lunch Ladies” live in a town in Minnesota. This was a nice, easy to read book which was enjoyable and well recommended.

Between the stories of the different characters and the different timelines, I was lost fairly quickly after beginning this book. There are some redeeming qualities in this novel with themes of community, friendship, love and loss.

I’m not sure I’d compare this to Lessons in Chemistry or Remarkably Bright Creatures. Those were both five-star reads for me, and I ended up being disappointed with this one. I found the writing difficult to follow for such a simple storyline. There were also too many characters to keep track of for my liking. It’s a quick read, otherwise I would have DNF’ed.

Set in 1976 in Hanley, Minnesota we find Crystal, Coralene, and Sheila are former lunch ladies, now working in the Nutrition Services Department of the Hanley School District. In this story we are given insight into each women's personal history - and the life experiences and losses that shaped them. This novel, in a way, reminds of books written by Fannie Flagg; it is sassy and has pizazz! It was a joy to read. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC for an honest exchange.

The story is set in Minnesota about Crystal, Coralene, and Sheila that work in a school district's lunch ladies in 1976. They are tasked to set up food stands for the Bicentennial parade on July 4. Their boss is a bumbling idiot who does not help the cause.

This book is well-written, and the character development is on point. I enjoyed this book very much. It was an easy read, well organized, and funny at times. I will recommend this to my friends.

As other reviewers stated, this reminds me of a Fannie Flagg novel. And that's a good thing.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a different book for me. And it's exactly why I wanted to read it. I like sprinkling in ones I'd never usually choose. And it's lucky because then I get to come across gems like this one.
It's witty and dry but at the same time so tender and snuggly.
I love reading about these very different and yes often flawed characters.
How they are so so so different but come together like opposing magnets to make such a force and group of strength for their community. Sheila made me laugh out loud. And I had so much time for her, Coralene and the other ladies of Hanley.
This is the type of book you could have in a book club. Because it's perfect writing for discussing later. Perfect for finding other people insight and views of these very quirky characters and the town events.

Set in Hanley, Minnesota, the story is about lunch ladies Crystal, Coralene and Sheila, their friends and families. The "Lunch Ladies" are busy planning food for a Bicentennial Parade and are working hard to achieve their goal. This book weaves the family and friends thru the lives of these ladies to provide a beautifully written story.
Thank you to Netgalley and Century House Press for allowing me to read this book.

At the outset, it seems that is book is about 3 Lunch Ladies who were promoted out of cafeterias, into an office. They are overseeing the food choices and menu planning.

But it's also about a whole town planning the Bicentennial Parade in 1976. The three Lunch Ladies are in each in charge of different food tables at the the end of the parade. They work hard to achieve their goal.

And, it's also about community, family, friendship, compassion, loneliness and so much more. It's not all happiness and fun. While some moments bring a smile into the reader's mind there are moments of sadness too.

The story takes place in Minnesota. A fellow reviewer mentioned that the characters remind her of those in Fannie Flagg's books. She is right. They are unique and quirky characters.

The events at the end of the book were a total surprise for me.

I do have one negative about the book. There are too many similar names and names that start with C. I found that confusing at times. They are:
Coralene (sometimes called Cora or Cory)
Decora
Coravelle (sometimes called Velly)
Crystal

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

If you love quirky characters that make you smile, you’ll like this book. But don’t let the funny fool you, there are themes of forgiveness, grief, loneliness, and friendship that hit the heart.

It's 1976 and the school district’s “lunch ladies”—Crystal, Coralene, and Sheila—are tasked with planning food stands for the town’s Fourth of July parade. But each woman has something else she’d rather concentrate on. Crystal likes to match people who have died with a living soul to guide them. Coralene is focused on her family, especially a nephew who needs saving. And Sheila? Well, Sheila’s past is a weight she can’t seem to shed.

With tender strokes, the author paints distinct portraits of lives that can be easily overlooked. Witty, insightful, and humorous, Lunch Ladies’ power comes from its ordinariness, those familiar absurdities that middle-aged, non-celebrities negotiate daily.

Thank you to Century House Press and NetGalley for an advance reader copy.

This is one of those novels where you are led to keep reading even though it seems like not much is happening. There's no mystery involved here, just the lives and emotions of 3 middle-aged small-town women and their friends and families (or lack thereof). However, as you keep reading, you realize that there is a LOT going on, that the story is about way more than three former lunch ladies planning food booths for the town's annual bicentennial celebration. It's about family, grief. loneliness, small town life, and the ways that we either welcome and invite friendship in, or build walls against it (and the results of each). I found Sheila's story profoundly sad and also very real.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was refreshingly unique. It had the flavor or southern authors, but it's set in Minnesota (who have some of the nicest people!)
Three lunch ladies are tasked with creating a role in a celebration for the bicentennial.

As the event planning proceeds, we learn about the lives the women have led, their history, and what they hope for their futures.

This is told with all of them experiencing grief, of different kinds. We see that everyone is shaped by their past and present.

This book has humor. made me reflect, and had a calming factor as I read. I loved it.

Thank you to Century House Press and Net Galley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #CenturyHousePress #LunchLadies #JodiThompsonCarr

Lunch Ladies by Jodi Thompson Carr contains all the ingredients for the perfect book. Not only did it grip my brain and heart within seconds but it held me captive until the last words. It's been percolating in my thoughts since and (thankfully) won't let go. In fact, it feels as though the author wrote it for me! It is THAT phenomenal. Carr insightfully writes a rich cast of fascinating characters with real traits and foibles as they live their moments in sorrow, joy, illness, disappointment, fear, wonderment, weighty loneliness, love and hope. The writing is sweet, kind (yes, that is possible!), warm, funny, tender and original. The foods and social mores of the 1970s are vivid and evoke nostalgia and the flashbacks to 1948 are wonderfully incorporated. Human nature and emotions are exquisitely detailed such as the bus ride descriptions, various friendships, marriage idiosyncracies, snippets of the past, matchmaking and raw pain of deep sorrow. Oh, how I loved it! My heart felt the gamut of emotions along with the characters as I laughed and cried.

Set in Hanley, Minnesota, the story is about lunch ladies Crystal, Coralene and Sheila, their friends and families. Getting to know the endearing ladies plus Tanner, Caroline, Jasper, Leonora, Sheila, Lexie, Tom, Darcy, the other Coras...pure pleasure. They enjoy their quirky routines, independence and sometimes acknowledging their reliance on each other. They pull together to create a memorable Fourth of July parade, share special moments and check up on each other. Details such as clever life metaphors, charming physical attributes, recognizing when we've been less than stellar, chapter quotes, letters, memos and the author's notes elevate the story from a five star to a five plus!

If you enjoy reading about ordinary life through the lenses of others, this gem has your name on it. It is sure to top my favourites of 2024 list.

My sincere thank you to Century House Press and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this extraordinarily wise novel. Those who have yet to read it for the first time are in for a treat!