THE PHOEBE VARIATIONS: Jane Hamilton in conversation with Carol Dunbar
Schedule
Tue Oct 21 2025 at 06:00 pm to 08:00 pm
UTC-05:00Location
5915 6th Ave A, Kenosha, WI, United States, Wisconsin 53140 | Kenosha, WI
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The acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of "The Book of Ruth" and "A Map of the World" returns with a stunning coming-of-age novel about girls, mothers, and finding one's way in the world.Join us at Blue House Books on Tuesday, October 21st to hear from award-winning Wisconsin author Jane Hamilton about her newest novel, "The Phoebe Variations". Jane will be discussing her book with Carol Dunbar ("A Winter's Rime"), answering questions from the audience, and signing books!
This event requires a $5 reservation deposit. Get all the details here: https://www.blue-house-books.com/events/2759520251021
About THE PHOEBE VARIATIONS:
Seventeen-year-old Phoebe was never interested in her birth family. But on the cusp of her high school graduation, her adoptive mother, Greta, insists on a visit to meet her biological parents and siblings. The encounter is a jolt, a revelation that derails Phoebe.
With the help of her best friend Luna, Phoebe runs away—as far as their friend Patrick O’Connor’s chaotic home, where she hopes to go unnoticed among his thirteen siblings. But when Phoebe asks Patrick to chop off her hip-length hair, she’s suddenly transformed. Patrick’s older brothers can’t help but notice the striking, Peter Pan–like stranger who has suddenly appeared in their midst.
What starts as an adolescent rebellion soon spirals into a whirlwind of self-discovery and unexpected connections. As she grapples with her shifting identity and strained relationships, Phoebe must navigate the tumultuous road out of girlhood and chart a new and unknown course.
About JANE HAMILTON:
Jane Hamilton is the author of seven critically acclaimed and bestselling novels, including "The Book of Ruth" and "A Map of the World", both of which were Oprah's Book Club selections. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Allure, Elle, and various anthologies. She's married to an apple farmer and lives in Wisconsin.
About THE WINTER'S RIME:
A harrowing and emotional novel set in rural Wisconsin— "A Winter's Rime" explores the impact of generational trauma, and one woman's journey to find peace and healing from the violence of her past.
Mallory Moe is a twenty-five-year-old veteran Army mechanic, living with her girlfriend, Andrea, and working overnights at a gas station store while figuring out what’s next. Andrea's off-grid cabin provides a perfect sanctuary for Mallory, a synesthete with a hypersensitivity to sound that can trigger flashbacks from her childhood.
The getaway that's largely abandoned during the off season starts out idyllic, until Andrea's once-loving behavior turns controlling and abusive, and Mallory once again finds herself not wanting to go home. After a particularly disturbing altercation, Mallory escapes into the subzero night and stumbles into Shay, a teenage girl, injured and asking for help. But it isn’t long before she realizes that Shay isn't the only one who needs saving.
A story about sisterhood and second chances, "A Winter’s Rime" looks to nature to find what it can teach us about bearing hardship and expanding our capacity to forgive—not just others, but ourselves.
About CAROL DUNBAR:
Carol Dunbar is a working writer and former actor who left her life in the city to live off the grid. Her first novel, "The Net Beneath Us", won the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award and her second novel, "A Winter’s Rime", received a WLA award for outstanding achievement in fiction. She writes from a solar-powered office on the second floor of a water tower in northern Wisconsin, where she lives in a house in the woods with her husband, two kids, and a Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog.
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Where is it happening?
5915 6th Ave A, Kenosha, WI, United States, Wisconsin 53140Event Location & Nearby Stays:
