Quizlit\u2019s Book of the Month June 2025 is the wonderful Isola by Allegra Goodman. A young woman and her lover are marooned on an island in this historical epic of love, faith, and defiance.<\/p>\n
This post may contain affiliate links that earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.<\/em><\/p>\n Buy Now<\/strong>: Amazon<\/a> | AbeBooks<\/a><\/p>\n In sixteenth-century France, as the heiress to an aristocratic fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of privilege. Then she is orphaned, and her enigmatic and volatile guardian squanders her inheritance and insists she accompany him on an expedition to the new French colonies of North America. Isolated and afraid, Marguerite befriends her guardian\u2019s servant and the two develop an intense attraction. But when their relationship is discovered, they are brutally punished, abandoned on a small island with no hope for rescue.<\/p>\n From a childhood dressed in gowns and laced pearls in her hair, Marguerite finds herself at the mercy of nature. As the weather turns, blanketing the island in ice, she discovers a faith she had never before needed\u2026<\/p>\n Inspired by the real life of a sixteenth-century heroine, Isola tells the timeless story of a woman fighting for survival.<\/p>\n \u201cAllegra Goodman\u2019s latest novel is a feminist castaway tale about love, faith, and self-actualization.\u201d\u2014Time,\u00a0<\/em>\u201cMost Anticipated Books of 2025\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBlazing action on each page\u2014Marguerite\u2019s shrewd deploying of tactics for her own salvation\u2014reminds readers to place our money on the power of human female ingenuity.\u201d\u2014The Washington Post<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cA work of tremendous imagination that draws on harrowing historical records to spin a story of self-determination, courage and faith.\u201d\u2014The New York Times Book Review<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIsola<\/em>\u00a0is a tale of struggle, strength, and survival that\u2019s both timely and timeless.\u201d\u2014Paste<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAn exciting, imagined narrative . . . As a novel of adventure and redemption and as a story of a woman coming into her own, [Isola<\/em>] is a rewarding read.\u201d\u2014Bookpage<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Buy Now<\/strong>: Amazon<\/a> | AbeBooks<\/a><\/p>\n Sam is seven years old and living in Beverly, Massachusetts. She adores her father, though he isn\u2019t around much. Her mother struggles to make ends meet, and never fails to remind Sam that if she studies hard and acts responsibly, adulthood will be easier\u2014more secure and comfortable. But comfort and security are of little interest to Sam. She doesn\u2019t fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and don\u2019t question the rules. She doesn\u2019t care about jeans or rules. All she wants to climb. Hanging from the highest limbs of the tallest trees, scaling the side of a building, Sam feels free.<\/p>\n As a teenager, Sam begins to doubt herself. She yearns to be noticed, even as she wants to disappear. When her climbing coach takes an interest in her, his attention is more complicated than she anticipated. She resents her father\u2019s erratic behavior, but she grieves after he\u2019s gone. And she resists her mother\u2019s attempts to plan for her future, even as that future draws closer.<\/p>\n The simplicity of this tender, emotionally honest novel is what makes it so powerful. Sam by Allegra Goodman will break your heart, but will also leave you full of hope.<\/p>\nBook of the Month June 2025<\/h2>\n
Isola by Allegra Goodman<\/h2>\n
Also by Allegra Goodman<\/h2>\n