The Calamity Club

by Kathryn Stockett

In 1933 Oxford, Mississippi, Prohibition is on the wane, and the Great Depression is tightening its grip. Poor and rich folks alike have fallen on hard times, even as the old social order remains. For women on the margins, the options are few and the price of dignity and self-determination is unbearably high.

Eleven-year-old Meg, one of the unadoptable “big girls” at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed. Birdie, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford on a mission to ask her social-climbing sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind. And Charlie is a woman with a past, running low on luck but driven by fire, fury, and grit. When their fates converge, they come up with an audacious plan to take back control of their lives. Together, they form an unlikely sisterhood—but in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife, women’s freedom is fragile, and making an enemy can have dire consequences, will the price they pay for their outrageous risk-taking be too high?

The Calamity Club will make you laugh, cry, and cheer—an epic testament to resilience, friendship, and the fierce, funny women who know that calamity can be the spark of new beginnings. This is Kathryn Stockett at her most confident, heartfelt, and hilarious—the triumphant return of one of the most beloved storytellers of our time.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Book Club, Audiobook, Literary Fiction, Feminism

Audible Audio

First published May 5, 2026

About the author

Kathryn Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in English and creative writing, she moved to New York City, where she worked in magazine publishing for nine years. She currently lives in Mississippi and New York City.

Reviews

[ଘRory (Hiatus )]

It is not unlikely that I do not like unlikely sisterhood.

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
1933, Oxford Mississippi. Bearing the steamy heat and the burdens of the post depression, burdens that fall on them because life happens, we meet a cast of fully realized characters, the faces of strength and resilience in spite of it all. The story unfolds with alternating narratives of two of the main characters who took me into their hearts and souls from the minute I met them. Bright, precocious and funny, eleven year old Meg is an orphan at The Lafayette County Orphan Asylum. Her story of abandonment at nine, the physical and emotional abuse she suffers at the hands of the vile director of the orphanage was chilling. A ray of hope when her path crosses Birdie a smart, defiant, kind and also funny young woman trying to save her mamma and meemaw from dire circumstances and then her sister and her sister’s mother in law.

A winding plot with a lot of other characters covering multiple themes - the injustice and violation of sterilization against women deemed to be immoral and feeble minded, the horrible treatment of orphans, adultery, the stigma of homosexuality, alcoholism, the ties than bind families . I wanted to give this 5 stars since Kathryn Stockett does such an extraordinary job with characterization and I felt I knew all of these characters. However, I have to admit that this 650 + page book could have used some editing . One of the story threads at about the halfway point and beyond was just too drawn out. Having said that, there was not a time that I didn’t want to pick it up to know what happens to Meg and Birdie and others. Fifteen years after her first novel The Help, I found it worth the wait in spite of the drawn out middle .

I received a copy of this book from Spiegal and Grau through Edelweiss.

[♥︎ Heather ⚔ (Semi-Hiatus-attempting return) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Digital ARC provided via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Enjoyable, but dragged at times for me.

I picked up The Calamity Club because the premise sounded really appealing: set in 1933 Oxford, Mississippi during the Great Depression, it follows a group of very different women, including a tough young orphan girl named Meg, who form an unlikely sisterhood and team up to take back some control over their lives.

The story has a lot going for it. The friendships that develop feel warm and genuine, with plenty of humor mixed in with the harder moments of poverty, abandonment, and limited options for women at that time. Stockett brings the era to life with vivid details about the orphanage, small-town

Southern life, and the daily struggles everyone faced. I especially liked Meg’s fierce spirit and how the “Calamity Club” idea brings these characters together in unexpected ways. There were parts that made me laugh out loud and others that tugged at the heartstrings.

That said, at around 600 pages, the pacing dragged in the middle for me. A few sections felt repetitive, and some of the plot resolutions wrapped up a little too conveniently. I also wanted a bit more emotional depth from one or two of the supporting characters.

Overall, it’s a solid, entertaining read about resilience and female friendship, but it didn’t quite keep me fully hooked the whole way through.

If you enjoy big-hearted historical novels about strong women banding together during tough times, this one is worth a read- just be prepared for a slower middle section.

✴︎a˚｡⋆ Connect with me on Instagram ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

[Krickette · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has almost been two decades since I first read The Help (2009) written by Kathryn Stockett and fell in love with her ability to capture my heart with her magical storytelling skills. It was a book I absolutely adored! So… when I received an ARC-kindle version of her second novel, The Calamity Club (thank you so much NetGalley) I was completely over the moon!🌙

Like her debut novel, The Calamity Club shows off Kathryn Stockett’s conversational writing style which allows her words to be the threads that weave a story of survival, loyalty, friendship, resilience and love.

The Calamity Club is a historical fiction novel set in the heart of Mississippi in the early 1930’s and follows several very strong and “against all odds” female characters. These characters are complicated, oozing with depth, courage and determination.

Knee deep in the mucky-ness of the Great Depression we are introduced to these female stand outs:

🌸Birdie (an upfront, tell it like it is, resourceful and deeply real 24 year old unwed woman) FAV!
🌺Meg (an ever-so-clever, sassy as they come, smart and wise beyond her years 11 year old orphan) FAV!
🌸Francis (Birdie’s social ladder climbing, self centered and conceited sister)
And last but not least ….
🌺Mrs. Tartt (a wise, witty, and quite sophisticated-but tender hearted- older widowed woman (also mother-in-law to Francis).
….Later, in the second half of this sorted story, additional female characters come into play and help keep the rhythm of the story moving (Charlie and Flossy are at the top, with several others to follow). Told from two POVS and alternating storylines, this story and the collision of circumstances will surprise you.

While this story was deeply layered, and filled with remarkable characters, hardship, social judgements, and an unlikely sisterhood, it did prove to be quite wordy at times with long enough chapters 😬and details that could have been fine tuned. Although long-I did continue on🤪(an overall story that was well over 650 pages) and when I finally read the last page, I was happy that I did.

This book was filled with all the things, yes verbose, but well worth the read. A part of history I feel gets a bit overlooked and an era that required much resilience, candor and commitment in order to land on your feet! Great second book for Kathryn Stockett! 4⭐️s.

I want to thank NetGalley and publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.

[SusanTalksBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

*** 4/8/26 *** THANK YOU NetGalley for a pre-release ARC of The Calamity Club, Kathryn Stockett's first novel since The Help. A lot of reviews summarize the book, so I will skip that, and jump to thoughts on this 640-page (Kindle version) novel.

I absolutely fell in love with Birdie, the 24-year old "old maid" from the Mississippi Delta who opens the novel, and Meg, the 11-year-old girl currently in an orphanage. Both of these women are smart (or should I say "exceptional learners"), resourceful, independently minded, and funny, and their characters and storylines during the first 50% of the book made me reclaim my lifelong love of reading that has fallen away some in recent years. Thank you, Kathryn Stockett, for creating them!

The first 50% of the book sets up a scenario that could easily have been a "whole book," but the second half of the book introduces a greatly expanded plot with several new storylines and additional characters. I, like some other reviewers, felt this half of the book could have been edited down some. There are redundant messages in the storylines, and it began to feel a little too much writing for too little plot development. I also didn't love the characters in the second half quite as much as Birdie and Meg in the first half (they are also in the second half). Yet I, like probably most readers, ALSO raced through it just to see how Stockett would resolve the storylines, and boy, did she resolve them! Readers definitely get that much-craved bow to wrap things up.

Overall, I felt this was a highly readable and enjoyable novel with important messages about historical practices of treating women who happen to be single or rub some right wing self-righteous twats the wrong way, beliefs about gay people, black people, children's rights and care standards, gender pay standards, women supporting each other, and women going for their goals no matter the risks. I highly anticipate this becoming a bestseller and a movie. I just wish there had been a little slimming down of a few storylines. 4.5 stars.

*** 4/4/26 *** Just got approved by NetGalley to review this depression-era, female-centric historical fiction by the author of The Help! Kathryn Stockett's sophomore effort is a long one, which is not my forte, but I'm hoping the story, characters, and writing quality will make this a joy to read! Pub date May 5, 2026, so coming soon, and we can only hope to hear news of a movie option this year if it is as good as I expect it will be. Review coming soon!

[Kristina Pauls (ARC Reviewer) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (5 stars)

Kathryn has done it again, I don't know how to put into words how well this book is written.

Set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, this story follows women like Meg, Birdie, and Charlie as they try to survive and take control of their lives in a time when women had very few options.

I connected with Meg and Birdie right away, especially once their paths crossed, and I grew to love characters like Mrs. Tartt as the story went on. This book is very character-driven, and I felt emotionally invested pretty early on.

What I didn't expect was how much of the story would center around the realities women faced trying to survive. A large part of the book focuses on women turning to prostitution because they had no other options, while that's difficult to read, it never felt like it was being glorified. Birdie really acts as the moral center of the story. She doesn't agree with it, but she understands why it's happening, and that keeps everything grounded.

The book does a really good job showing the lack of freedom women had during that time. It covers so many different situations: single women, childless women, women who wanted careers, women being treated as property, and even laws that limited their ability to work at the same time their husbands had a job. There are also clear double standards in how women are treated and judged compared to men, with an overall theme of women's lack of freedoms.

The story itself comes to a satisfying ending, but the authors note at the end really stuck with me. Knowing that much of this was based on real historical accounts added a heaviness that made everything feel even more real.

It also really puts into perspective the freedoms women have today, while at the same time making you think about some of those differences in how men and women are treated still exist. We've come a long way, but it's clear we're not all the way there yet.

Absolutely astounding book. Highly recommend.

PUBLISH DATE: May 5, 2026
BOOK TITLE: The Calamity Club
AUTHOR: Kathryn Stockett
PUBLISHER: Spiegel & Grau
FORMAT: ebook
PAGES: 640
I received a complimentary digital ARC [Advanced Readers Copy] of this book via NetGalley. Thank you to the Publisher and the Author for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. As always, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[Kristen W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Calamity Club is Kathryn Stockett's second novel, set in 1933 Oxford, Mississippi, following her debut The Help. It's a historical fiction novel about a group of women—including a well-intentioned, church going Birdie Calhoun, some prominent socialites, a group of desperate prostitutes, and a charming, honest and innocent young orphan, whose lives intersect during the Great Depression as they form an unlikely sisterhood and take a dangerous risk to earn some desperately needed cash, right some wrongs, and for many of them, start a new life..

How many years have we had to wait for Kathryn Stockett to gift us with a new novel? TOO MANY! Let me tell you, THE CALAMITY CLUB has been worth the wait! I just finished reading an advanced reader's copy (thank you, NetGalley!), and I absolutely LOVED it. This story has quite a cast of interesting characters, some lovable and some not. Stockett gives us multiple protagonists and antagonists in this 650+ page novel. One of my favorite things is that the story is told from two different perspectives; Birdie Calhoun, and 11 year old Meg LeFleur, and we get to know so many different characters along the way. I only hope we won't have to wait so long for another novel by Kathryn Stockett, and I especially hope THE CALAMITY CLUB will be made into a movie as was THE HELP!

[Renée | apuzzledbooklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s easy to say that this was probably my most anticipated book of the year. And did it live up to my high expectations? Partly.

I loved the first 60% or so. I was fully invested. I especially enjoyed the character development. Birdie’s humor and compassion really made me love her. Meg, I can’t even fully describe how I felt about her and rooted for her. This is a character-driven book that worked for me in so many ways.

The author also creates characters you kind of love to hate. Some I despised. The time period and circumstances of the era also play a huge role in the story. It’s set in the early 1930s, Mississippi. Tough financial times for so many.

There’s a point in the book where a certain plot-line develops and this is where the story lagged for me. I thought that it meandered unnecessarily. And I kept wishing it would return to another part, and I wanted to know more about that section than the one I was in. At a whopping 640 pages, I think there were some missed opportunities here. And a few loose ends. It could’ve been tightened up considerably, in my opinion, and been stronger for it.

But does that mean that I didn’t enjoy this book? It does not. It has so many elements that I really enjoyed! And I really loved so much of the ending, although it did feel rushed. I would still definitely recommend this one.

[Thanks to the publisher, Spiegel and Grau and NetGalley for the advance electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.]

CA | Some cursing and sexually related content. Fade to black.

[Leisa Back Porch Pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

✨I’ve taken over a week letting my thoughts on this book settle before sharing them. At the end of the day, I both loved it and found parts of it deeply frustrating.

✨I've been waiting 17 years for Kathryn Stockett to write another book. While her first book THE HELP is a book with real and widely discussed issues, it was still a story I deeply enjoyed at the time. I was curious not only to see what she would write next, but also to see how her perspective might have evolved since then.

✨Let’s talk first about what I loved: The character-driven storytelling, the unstoppable women – and girl, the social commentary, the humor and that satisfying southern good vs evil tension. The character of Meg was an absolute standout, and I loved her story so much.

✨The biggest letdown for me? Phonetic dialogue. Again. There are so many other ways to build a character’s voice without altering spelling. It especially bothers me when white authors write Black characters’ dialogue phonetically because it can easily feel caricatured as it does for me in these pages. I was truly disappointed to see this, and it distracted heavily from my enjoyment of the book.

✨My other struggles with the book were its length which could have been trimmed by at least 200 pages and still told the same story. I was also thrown by the complete 180 halfway through the book with its unexpected, sordid and utterly unbelievable turn I wasn't expecting and didn't particularly enjoy.

✨In the end, I cheered. And cried. I closed the book feeling like the characters got the endings they deserved. I feel like this is a book worth reading especially if you love southern settings and stories of unbreakable women.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teetering between 4.5 and 5 stars. Probably 30
pages too long, but still an incredible and immersive novel. Literally felt like I was in Oxford, MS in 1933. World building, progressive, and a deep read.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a long stretch between Sockett's first book and this, her sophomore effort. And the care with which she wrote it is evident throughout. She has managed to tell the story of female resilience in tough times using two distinct voices. Also, she has taken care with her research as evidenced in her author's notes. The only problem I had was with the length. At almost 700 pages, it was daunting, even as it was immersive. And the fact that it was presented as an electronic galley presented its own difficulty, that even at 600+ pages, the original font must have been on the small size adding to its bulk. However, I found it difficult to determine where cuts could be made since the elements were necessary to the story. Sockett has a tremendous knowledge of her home state, as well as a great love for it and all its challenges. She has fashioned a trip to the 1930's with its humidity soaked weather, pre air-conditioning, at a time when financial troubles were at their worst and created characters that make the reader want to know what happens when they reach the final page.

[Chrisann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been waiting for this author’s second book ever since I closed The Help about two decades ago. That book is one of my all-time favorites, and Skeeter is my most favorite book character of all time. So I was excited to get an early copy of this. Sadly, I do not recommend this book. I wish I could get all the hours I spent reading this back. I was really interested from the beginning and it wasn’t slow…until about the last 1/3. The book took a COMPLETELY unnecessary turn that was really unfortunate. At that point, in a nearly 700-page book, I wanted to see what happened. I knew there was next to no chance of redemption, but I finished it anyways. Ugh. I understand that these things likely happened because people were desperate, but…

***mild spoiler***

I am not typically a spoiler type of person, but I wish I would’ve known these ladies were going to open a brothel to save themselves. It was really disgusting and made for an unpleasant read. I just cannot recommend this. I’m sad I spent time reading this. It was way too long as well.

[Karson]

Pre-release:

I’m SO excited for this book to be released!!!!

[Susan]

I can’t get interested in this book at the moment, I’ll try again in a couple of weeks.

My second attempt at reading this book and this time I quite enjoyed it. Not as good as The Help but still enjoyable. I found it slow at times and couldn’t take to some of the characters.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

[Of Paper & Planes · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I know my life would be easier if I just sat there and took it. But here is what else I have come to know: If you give a girl a taste of fresh air and then take it away, she will grow fierce and wild to get that fresh air back again.”

“The Calamity Club,” Kathryn Stockett’s long-awaited second novel after her smash-hit “The Help,” is a triumphant, big-hearted, fearless work of historical fiction: a story about a group of wildly unlikely women who find each other in the depths of the Depression and rebuild their lives into something extraordinary. Told in dual-POV, the story alternates between the experiences of Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and outspoken, arriving in Oxford with nothing but determination, and young Meg Lefleur, abandoned and resilient, fighting to keep her spirit intact as she navigates life as an older-girl in the orphanage. Hilarious, devastating, hopeful, and empowering in equal measure, “The Calamity Club” is a powerfully empathetic examination of underrepresented people and places in a dark chapter of American history.

Set in Oxford, Mississippi in 1933, this book renders the Depression-era South with a vividness and specificity that feels alive. Stockett clearly knows this landscape in her bones, and it shows on every page. The Mississippi landscape is rendered so vividly that the story reads like watching a mental film. And, though the depth of historical research is clear, Stockett makes even the most complex historical context feel immediate and approachable. Overall, the novel gives Mississippi a voice while illuminating a specific and underexplored chapter of state history whose implications remain very visible in the region today.

At the center of the novel is the Calamity Club itself: an audacious, improbable, and deeply moving act of collective female survival that brings together society women, Black maids, prostitutes, an ex-convict, and a medical student under one roof and dares to suggest that solidarity is possible even across the most entrenched social divides. In a state where society is even now often barely integrated, this radical social mixing is a particularly meaningful achievement: these women should not be in the same room, and yet here they are, indispensable to each other, supporting each other without judgment or pretensions.

Stockett populates “The Calamity Club” with a wildly memorable ensemble: every character, from Birdie’s fussy socialite sister Frances to the indomitable ex-convict Charlie to young Meg herself, is rendered with specificity, clarity, and empathy. The dual POV structure drives home this richness of character by countering Birdie’s pragmatic realism with Meg’s precocious idealism in perfect contrast, even as the two become fast friends. Overall, this is a collection of fierce, brave, independent women who refuse to be defined by their circumstances in a show of found family and female solidarity that is empowering and exciting to behold.

What sets “The Calamity Club” apart from lesser historical fiction is the way Stockett moves between dark comedy, genuine devastation, and hard-won hope with a fluency that makes even the novel’s most difficult passages feel purposeful. This novel unflinchingly engages with racism, sexism, mental illness, sexual assault, homophobia, forced sterilization, unethically moralized government, and the catastrophic failures of women’s healthcare in 1930s Mississippi. Yet, the thematic darkness is paired with dry humor that results in laugh-out-loud moments without diminishing the gravity of the overarching narrative. The tonal balance is a remarkable feat; Stockett invites readers to contend with darkness and hope in equal measure, and somehow have fun while doing it.

At over 600 pages, “The Calamity Club” is an ambitious undertaking, yet it never actually feels like one. Stockett’s prose is conversational, witty, and wholly accessible, sustaining investment and momentum across every one of its pages. While the page count may appear dense, the prose is approachable and fast-paced. The pacing is as propulsive as a novel half its length, and I personally would have gladly read another 600 pages about these characters.

“The Calamity Club” is a passionate reminder that the most radical thing a group of underestimated women can do is decide, together, that they will not be undone. Stockett excavates a specific and underexamined chapter of American history and makes its stakes feel immediate, its injustices personal, and its triumphs hard-won. The narrative insists that solidarity across difference is not only possible but necessary; and that calamity, met with courage and community, need not be the end of anything. Instead, our trials can be the triumphant beginning to powerful change.

A heartfelt thank you for the eARC received via NetGalley and the physical copy generously provided by Spiegel & Grau in exchange for honest feedback.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's 1933 in Oxford Mississippi, and 11 year old Meg struggles to keep her hopes up and dignity intact as an unadoptable 'big girl' at the orphanage. Birdie arrives in Oxford from the Delta to ask her well-married younger sister Frances to help out their family farm, and is soon doing a few volunteer shifts at the orphanage along with her sister. She meets Meg and isstruck by Meg's intelligence, and the vendetta that the volunteer director has toward her, and wants to help her. Then Birdie meets Charlie, a woman down on her luck with nothing left to lose. As Charlie, Meg, and Birdie's fates converge, Charlie comes up with a plan to get everyone what they deserve. Propulsive and immersive, this is a story of unstoppable women and the power of friendship. I couldn't put it down.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you loved The Help, you will adore Kathryn Stockett's new book (finally!!), The Calamity Club. This story follows Birdie and Meg through the early 1930s in the Mississippi River Delta region. Times are tough for everybody, but Birdie might be tougher. She is not a woman of her time, and that's of course why I loved her. Meg is a clever eleven year old with an unbreakable spirit, living in hell in an orphanage in Oxford. Suffering unthinkable abuse seems to be her lot in life, until Birdie shows up. Then, "Hope is the thing with feathers..." Birdie travels to Oxford to check on her recently married sister, and ask for money to help their family back home. Birdie thought asking for help from her brother in law would be the hard part, but she quickly learns there are many people with bigger problems in Oxford.

You will admire the unlikely sisterhood that Birdie forms to help her own family and the resilient women she meets along the way. The shenanigans they get up to are hilarious, but the risks they take will have you on the edge of your seat. My only critique is that the book dragged a bit in parts. I feel like it could've been edited and shortened a bit without taking away from the story. Despite that, The Calamity Club will be a must-read for 2026. A big thank you to Netgalley and Spiegel & Grau for the opportunity to read and review an early copy. The Calamity Club is out now. Go read it!

[Ashlee Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE CALAMITY CLUB by Kathryn Stockett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Best part about this book: unstoppable woman coming together! I’m weak for a book with strong women, and this one filled my cup in that way. This book is very character driven and I fell in love with so many of the characters very quickly.

I will say, this book was longer than I felt it needed to be. The first half I absolutely loved. There were some turns in the second half I wasn’t wild about (+ felt unbelievable), and the pacing felt a little slower. I also would recommend checking trigger warnings before diving in!

This book follows 3 main characters in 1930’s Mississippi. Meg, an abandoned orphan; Birdie, trying to help her family; and Charlie, a woman trying to take back her life. When their lives converge, they come up with a risky plan to try and fix their problems.

Perfect if you like:
•Unstoppable Women!
•Found family.
•Morally grey themes.
•Scandal!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️
Mood: 🍿🍷

⚠️: check trigger warnings.

[Rebecca Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in 1930s Mississippi, this is an amazing story of a woman and an orphan girl who connect.

Birdie is often overlooked, the spinster sister from the back of beyond. She is a wonderfully rounded character who you can not but fall in love with.

Meg is an orphan who seems to be singled out by the manager of the orphanage. She has such spirit that you root for her to the end.

There are such wonderful side characters that it seems impossible for them to even be considered 'side characters'. Colourful, strong women are aplenty.

The Calamity Club is beautifully written and it will stay with me a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity of this ARC.

[Flannery Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75 Docked a little for dragging on a smidge in e last third. But otherwise GREAT characters: women who would normally be counted our but are the heroines of the story. My favorite.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel by Kathryn Stockett and was keen to read The Calamity Club after enjoying her previous book, The Help.  The Calamity Club is a compelling, immersive read that I couldn’t put down. I read this 600 + pager in just three days!

Set in Oxford, Mississippi, in 1933, during Prohibition and the Great Depression, the novel explores the financial struggles and constraints shaping the lives of its characters at a time when many families were barely surviving.

The story centres around Birdie, Frances, Mrs Tartt, Charlie, as well as Meg aged 11 who lives at the County Orphan Asylum, each battling in different ways to take control of their lives and futures. The characters are deeply believable, and I loved how the novel unfolds, with the meaning of the book title becoming clearer as the story progresses.

The novel explores themes of grief, love, female friendship, identity, and courage. It made me feel a wide range of emotions, and I was completely engaged and often moved.

The characters are well developed, the pacing felt just right, and the world is vividly described, making it easy to lose myself in the story.

I adored this book, and I thought the ending was fabulous; deeply satisfying and emotionally resonant. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I received a free advance review copy from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my honest review.

[friday reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5⭐ - I shouldn’t have been into this: historical fiction that’s also 600+ pages?? No way. And yet, I was thoroughly enthralled!

(Thank you Spiegel & Grau for the free copy, all thoughts are my own)

I was worried this was going to be too character driven for my tastes, but there is SO much plot going on between these pages and I could not have guessed where we were going to go from the start, I was thoroughly entertained. I loved the rich history, and Stockett touches on many laws that were in place in Mississippi during the 1900s such as abhorrent sterilization practices against women and children deemed “feebleminded” or promiscuous. This novel feels intensely feminist in the best way, and I loved the humanization of sex workers and the challenging of stereotypical beliefs often found in the south.

The only reason this isn’t a five star is, while I did enjoy most of the book despite the length, I do believe it could’ve been trimmed down. Also, despite the language and terms most likely being accurate to the time period, the book was at times hard to digest with the constant sexism, racism, and homophobia casually inserted almost everywhere (like did we really need to call them sitting cross legged ‘Indian style’, especially when in the next chapter you call it cross legged anyways??).

These in my eyes are minor complaints though, and overall I immensely enjoyed the found family, intense interpersonal dynamics and the multitude of themes and issues explored.

I stay wanting to shake Frances by the shoulders though!! She does not deserve Birdie.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one started out slow for me. I was trying to figure out how all the points of view were connected. It took a bit, but when things clicked, they clicked for me and I hated to stop the audio book.

I felt for Meg, a little girl who's life spun out of control and she just had to go with things. Meg was so darn smart and did what she could to make things easy for her. And just when it seemed like things turned really good for her, life had other plans. I did like how things ultimately ended for her and hope it was the first of many happy things.

Birdie was interesting, she changed so much over the book. Her eyes opened to so much, for the better. I think her time at the house with the girls was such a good thing, she learned a ton, making an open empathic person so much more. She got what they were going through and why.

Charlie, your heart broke for her, for what she was forced to go through at the hands of a petty mean woman. I liked how she didn't let it keep her down, but gave her a new way to fight for what she wanted. Her ending was so great!

I even like the role that the house played, was so glad that it was able to help so many and be saved at the same time, bring solace to it's owner.

I felt sorry for the girls at the house, it seemed like they found a good place, wished it would have gone on for them, the sense of sisterhood and acceptance was great! Yet I know it had to end or it would have ended badly for them. I hope they all found someplace even better after leaving the house.

[Zinnia Bayardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

At over 600 pages this was a CHONKER of a book and yet I did NOT want it to end! UNPUTDOWNABLE! UNFORGETTABLE!

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2026 and it did not disappoint!!!

The author of the very popular book, later turned into an equally popular movie, THE HELP, Kathryn Stockett has done it again with her gift for bringing together wildly different characters and making you care deeply about every single one of them, and she absolutely does it again here. Meg, dear sweet, smart Meg will forever have my heart!

This was funny, sharp, emotional, suspenseful, entertaining, and everything else Stockett knows so well to add to a story! She’s writes dialogue and relationships so well that every chapter pulls you deeper into the lives of these women fighting to survive in a world determined to limit them.

This book is a celebration of underestimated women, resilience, friendship, and the chaos that sometimes becomes the very thing that saves us. Kathryn Stockett’s return was MORE than worth the wait. Easily one of my favorite reads of the year! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished The Calamity Club on audio and I loved every minute of it. The narration brought so much life to the characters and made the story feel even more emotional and immersive. I found myself looking for excuses to keep listening.

Set in Oxford, Mississippi during the Great Depression and Prohibition, the story captures the uncertainty and hardship of the time without losing its heart. Every character felt fully formed and memorable. Birdie, Frances, Mrs. Tartt, Charlie, and especially Meg completely pulled me in. Watching their lives intertwine over the course of the novel kept me invested from start to finish.

What I loved most was how human the story felt. The relationships were complicated, the emotions felt honest, and there were several moments that hit me hard. Some scenes made me smile, others hurt a little, and a few stayed with me long after I finished listening.

Kathryn Stockett made Oxford feel vivid and alive. I could picture every home, every street, and every moment so clearly while listening.

And that ending, perfect, emotional, hopeful, and deeply satisfying.

Easy 5 stars from me.

[Joel Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a compelling glimpse into Oxford in 1933! 'The Calamity Club' weaves a tale of friendship and defiance against a backdrop of hardship and societal norms. Meg, Birdie, and Charlie are such relatable characters, each representing the unique struggles women faced then. Their story of empowerment is one we can all cheer for!

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Kathryn Stockett had a rough ride with The Help – that book went from being a book club bestseller to a cautionary tale about about cultural appropriation – so I was hoping this book would offer her a shot at redemption. It's a solid book, both in terms of its writing and (literally) in terms of its size. The audiobook was 28 hours long, so I braced for this to occupy me for at last a week. It says a lot about the pacing that I was able to crank through it in only a few days. I was interested in both the two main story lines at the onset – one featuring Meg, an orphan, and the other featuring Birdie, whose family has fallen on hard times. As the book chugged along, I found myself more interested in Meg, but the focus seemed to shift toward Birdie and what struck me as a somewhat far-fetched turn of events. Technically Stockett hit all the marks – she wove the two story lines together at the end, providing satifying closure to all she had introduced. I guess the reason I was this book landed in "fine but not remarkable" territory for me: 1) Birdie's sister was so, so, so unlikable and unsympathetic – a spoiled little rich girl during the Depression; and 2) The "let's throw a charity concert to save the town" vibe of the second half plot line just didn't work for me – it managed to feel cliché despite being pretty original. Stockett is a solid writer so I hope this isn't the last we see of her. It just wasn't as satisfying an experience as I'd hope for from a book of this length.

[Stephanielikesbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having loved The Help, it was an automatic decision for me to read The Calamity Club by the same author.

I loved the two strong yet vulnerable female main characters: Birdie, a young unmarried woman in her twenties, and Meg, an eleven-year-old girl living in an orphanage. Set in the US South in the 1930’s depression-era, the author really got that authentic small-town, insular, southern-town feeling and deftly wove in historical details around poverty, hopelessness, sexism, and racism.

I was initially daunted by the size of this book (it’s 650 pages long). But the first half quickly drew me in as we got to know both Birdie and Meg in alternating POVs. Birdie was such a strong, kind, intelligent, funny character who was so likable. Meg was so vulnerable and helpless against the several awful adults in her life and I just wanted to hug her. I couldn’t get enough of this first part of the story.

The second part introduced several additional characters who become a key part of Birdie’s journey. The storyline in this second half was a bit far-fetched but humorous at times and I enjoyed the found family theme. However, this middle part of the book was slower and, in my opinion, could have been condensed and tightened to make for a more concise read.

Like in The Help, the author infused the story with social issues such as forced sterilization of “immoral and feebleminded” women, alcoholism, poverty, segregation, racism, homophobia, and the push to have a “religiously moral” society. I thought these were handled well.

In spite of its drawn-out middle, I’m glad I read this one for its warmth, its well-developed main characters, and its heart. I just had to know what would happen to Birdie and Meg.

Like The Help, I can see this novel being adapted into a movie (more likely a TV series). Overall though, The Help remains my favourite by this author.

Thanks to the publisher for this complimentary digital copy. All opinions are my own.

[Sarah Gregg · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I know my life would be easier if I just sat there and took it.
But here is what else I have come to know: If you give a girl a taste of fresh air and then take it away, she will grow fierce and wild to get that fresh air back again."

This is “good old fashion southern storytelling at its best.” The characters are vivid and real, the setting and time are RICH, and the story doesn’t stop for one minute. Each page contains another twist, another kink in their plans, or another revelation of the reality of being a woman in 1933 Mississippi. I can see each of these characters are fully realized people in a fully realized place. Their struggles and dreams are tangible, and you’re rooting for each one of them.

This is a book about feminism, poverty, relationships, education, and so much more.

I can’t really say any more without giving away too much of the twists but wow. What an incredible book.

“Do not wait around to see if this man will reject you for what you can’t give him. Please. You’re more than that—that one aspect of your biology. You’re Birdie.”

[Tina Plintz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will definitely stay with me for a long time. I loved The Help, and this one was just as good.

It offers a lot of insight into the Great Depression, sexism, poverty, and racism. The story alternates between Birdie, a young woman trying to help her struggling family by asking her wealthy sister’s husband for help, and Meg, an 11-year-old orphan fighting to survive.

While some parts might feel repetitive and slow, the book’s strong characters and engaging storyline make it worth the time. I highly recommend it to anyone who values friendship above all else. This book will evoke a range of emotions, from love and loss to happiness and sadness, and even make you chuckle at some of the comical moments. Just be prepared that it won’t be finished in a day or two, but it’s definitely worth the investment.