Patrick Ryan’s Buckeye is Jenna Bush Hager’s latest pick for Read With Jenna, the Today show book club.
Ryan’s novel, published Tuesday by Random House, tells the story of two families in the fictional town of Bonhomie, Ohio, who become intertwined after a brief affair between two members. A critic for Kirkus called it “an earnest and empathetic family drama.” It is Ryan’s sixth book and first adult novel; his others include the YA novel Gemini Bites and the story collection The Dream Life of Astronauts.
Buckeye is also the latest selection for Barnes & Noble’s book club.
“You read it once, and then, even though it’s 500 pages, want to reread again,” Hager said of Ryan’s novel. “I underlined so many parts of this book to share as inspiration. I fell in love with these characters.…Not only because it’s super emotional—anyone who has ever loved a child or a partner will feel that way. I cried because I was going to miss these characters so very much. I would recommend this book to anybody.”
Ryan told Today.com, “I worked on it for eight years. To do that you have to let go of the idea of any kind of reward. You just have to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty—try not to think about approval and any kind of badge or gold star.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
