Blue Bottle Club

by Penelope J. Stokes

Four friends gathered in a cold, dusty attic on Christmas day to make a solemn pact. “Our dreams for the future,” they whispered, placing tiny pieces of paper into a shimmering blue bottle. But that event happened in 1929, and it is decades later when local news reporter Brenna Delaney stumbles upon that bottle . . . and into the most meaningful story of her career. Life has taken those four girls’ dreams of love, fame, and faith on a path fraught with seduction, betrayal, and loss. Little has turned out as expected―and yet every choice, every tear has led each of them to a special place. Brenna’s search will uncover the secrets of that Blue Bottle Club . . . and her own life will never be the same. “A beautiful novel about friendship and the power of faith to renew our dreams.” ―Angela Hunt, author of Magdalene

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Book Club, Historical Fiction, Christian, Historical, Friendship

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

It’s often been debated whether a person’s destiny lies in genetics or environment, but either way, I suppose I was destined to be a fiction writer. A Baby Boomer with an English teacher and a social worker for parents, I grew up being challenged to develop my imagination, and to seek out for myself the meaning and significance of life. I learned early both the magic and mystery of stories and the importance of people–their dreams, their hopes, their longings, their struggles.

From the age of four, when I first learned to read and discovered that words had incredible power, I dreamed of being a writer. But the fulfillment of that dream was a long time in coming. Ten years of university study, culminating in a Ph.D. in Renaissance Literature, led me to a career as a college professor. I loved teaching, loved the students and the challenge and the interaction, but the longing for full-time expression of my creativity never died. Finally, after twelve years of college teaching, I left the classroom and turned my energy toward my life’s passion–writing fiction.

In the process, I discovered another passion–the magnificent grandeur of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina.

I was raised in Mississippi, and as a child I remember family vacations to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I loved the undulating layers of blue and purple and green, the rushing streams coming down over the rocks, the cool glades and misty mornings. And now I live here—in the shadow of the Blue Ridge near DuPont Forest, where rare and remarkable white squirrels chatter wisdom to me from the trees outside my office window.

White squirrel in TamaracBut scenery can only take you so far. Fiction is about people. Not just what happens to them, but about what happens in them–the spiritual, emotional, and psychological passages that lead people to an understanding of their inner selves, and of one another. That’s what I like to write about: the heart, the mind, the soul. Authenticity of character and profound spiritual transformation. I want to draw my readers into a different kind of world–one marked by purpose, significance, and hope. Most importantly, hope.

Some readers have criticized me for dealing with uncomfortable subjects in my fiction–subjects which do not lend themselves to easy answers. The truth is, there are no easy answers in life. There are not even any easy questions. Over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that our character is determined not so much by the certainties we cling to, but by the uncertainties we are courageous enough to face.

At the end of the day, only a few things in life really matter: Love. Insight. Growth. Grace. When we’re committed to going deeper, to following the unknown path, our journey can lead us to an understanding of our own our inner being, to a connection with a power that is both within us and beyond us. And that understanding, that connection, gives meaning and purpose to our days.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an inspiring story! This one really gripped me; I was fascinated by the lives of the characters, and how they had their futures all mapped out, only for God to have other plans. I need to find other books by this author.

[Karen Jett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely book appears to be about the 4 dreams of 4 teenage girls. In reality it is about faith and how life transforms our dreams over time into something that is different but can also be so much better if we are open to it.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do our childhood dreams always come true? That is what Brenna is challenged to discover when a blue bottle is discovered in the attic of a soon to be demolished home. Brenna, a reporter, is at a crossroad in her own life and is drawn to find the 4 women whose notes are in the bottle. When 4 friends place their slips of paper defining their dreams for the future in a blue bottle Christmas Day 1929 they are full of hope and expectations. Soon to follow is the stock market crash, and their worlds are forever changed in the events that follow. Letitia dreamed of marriage, wealth and social standing. In the wake of her father's suicide, she and her mother loss everything. Letitia's engagement ends, and she ultimately ends up a spinster school teacher. Adora dreams of the spotlights of Hollywood. When discovered by a wealthy hollywood producer, she believes her dreams are soon to be realized. When she unexpectantly becomes pregnant, all is lost. In reaching out to her family, she finds that her father, a Presbyterian minister, has declared her dead and performed her funeral service. She is lead to a loving Christian woman who runs a diner, and comes to know true love and grace. Eleanor wishes to devote her life to social work, denoucing her Mother's life of status. When her mother sinks into a deep depression after losing everything to the stock market crash, Ellie is left to care for her. When Letitia invites her to begin attending their small community church after the passing of Ellie's mother, she is befriended by Catherine, a woman of great philanthropic backround. She offers to buy the large home that Ellie shared with her mother to expand her care of the elderly, and Ellie finds love and an ability to serve. Mary Love wishes to paint and find solace in living alone after being raised in a family of 11 children. When unable to afford to attend art school, she commits to becoming a nun, and finds herself in a convent in Minnesota. In painting she is able to express her love of God, and display his presence in those she loves. While the women may not have completely realized their childhood dreams, they all found strength and possibilties when commited to their faith. Not only do the women reunite, Brenna also is able to begin her realization of her dreams.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed a number of aspects of this feel-good book, particularly the stories of the four girls/women who put their wishes into the blue bottle in 1929. Brendan wasn't as impressive of a character for me, and I thought a few things contrived, but I'd read another book by Stokes, especially if it was written later on in her writing career and with a different sort of story.

In 1994, Brendan, a TV news reporter, does a bit about a historic house that's set to be demolished. Afterward, one of the men working on this gives her an old blue bottle shaped like a house (whoever did the cover art obviously didn't read the book, nor were they told this salient detail.) When she spots the paper rolled up inside of it, she takes out out and realizes she has a gold mine for a possible great human interest story if she can find the women who wrote their dreams. The book follows Brendan as she seeks the women, but most of it is the women telling their stories from when they wrote their dreams down. Those are often the better parts of the book.

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I Hated this book. The author was very preachy and contributed/blamed/related any character action to God. I don't appreciate that much theology! I also didn't like the simplicity of the story. She talked about the women's dreams over and over like a broken record. It was too contrived and not very thought provoking as though a child wrote it, not an adult woman. I noticed the author also has written a book very similarly about three women putting their wishes into a wishing well - same song...second verse.
The author also really offended me as a Minnesotan by her referring to Minnesota as "one step removed from the frozen pit of hell in Dante's inferno" and named her characters in Minnesota "Sven, etc. I've lived here my entire life - never met a Sven. Obviously she is uneducated and has never been to Minnesota. How typical. If you are wondering how I came upon this great piece of literature? It was a book club selection from my book club.

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful story and a very enjoyable book to read. Took me back to my childhood when we all put our wishes in a bottle. I wish I could see what I wrote way back then.

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend was getting rid of some books and gave me a stack. I wasn't expecting to find a treasure, but I did. I'm teaching Sunday School today on Proverbs 16:9 "A man's heart plans his way but the Lord directs his steps." and James 4:15, "We ought to say, 'If the Lord wills we shall live and do this or that.'" These two scriptures summarize the theme of this book. Brandon Delaney, was a television reporter who wanted--who needed--more. She needed a purpose, hope and a dream. She summarized her journey to discovery toward the end of the book with these words, "It wasn't just a story about four friends who despite all odds found each other after sixty-five years. It was about dreams--the fulfillment of dreams and the death of dreams. That was the common denominator--the factor that would make viewers identify with these women." It made me, as a reader, identify with the story, appreciate it for not only good story-telling, but for the principle of life it brought to light: that we most often discover God in the midst of struggles and He takes us out of darkness into the light. And there, we find that though our own dreams may not have been realized, God was the One who directed our lives, molded and changed us, and gave us better things than we ever could have dreamed.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It is the story of 4 girls, best friends, who on Christmas Day in 1929 meet in an attic and share their dreams for life. They put these dreams on paper into a blue bottle and hide the bottle in the rafters of the attic. 65 years later, Brenden,a local reporter, is given the bottle when the old house is being demolished. She is intrigued by the notes and decides to track down the 4 women and see where their lives have led them. It is fascinating the see how their stories unfold, none of them turning out quite how they wanted to expected, of course, but they have each found strength in adversity and joy in their lives as they have found God in their own ways. Brenden's life is changed through the experience as she looks for her own faith. I love this story of these wonderfully strong women who are so different but so similar in their outlook on life and their relationships with God. It is an uplifting, encouraging book that is fun to read and just makes you feel good.

[Sheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 teenagers in the 30's put their dreams for the future in a blue bottle and hide it in the rafters of one of the girl's houses. Sixty-five years later it is discovered and a reporter searches out the 4 women to see if they achieved their dreams. Good book for thinking about life.

[Donna Barter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! I can't stop thinking about the characters and feel like I know them personally. This is a very thought provoking story with a powerful message. I have already recommended this book and will again.

[Amy B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read!!! Loved it from start to finish.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book, I started reading it on Sunday and I read over half of it in one sitting!! I can't wait to go home and finish it tonight!

[Hannah Beth (Hannah's Book Cafe) · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason I thought this was going to be a WW2 novel. 🤣 It isn't, by the way. However, it is a beautiful story of friends who make a pact about their dreams and all of the different ways God comes in and changes their lives for the better, but in ways you would never think of. Kind of like real life, right?

I enjoyed all of the different stories of the characters and different POVs. One of my favorite types of stories is when you go through the same time period but with different people's POV because everyone sees and experiencs things differently. Then to see it all wrapped up in the end is absolutely so satisfying to read.

What would our lives be if we just let God do His work in us? If you love a good conversion story(or stories in this case), this book is definitely for you!

The biggest reason I am not eating this 5 stars is because there were some parts that started getting a little too slow for my taste. Otherwise, this is a beautiful read.

[Jenae · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars- A sweet and encouraging book that weaves together the stories of 5 women. The book helps the reader to discover that sometimes God’s purpose for our lives can overshadow even our own dreams and aspirations.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t exactly know why, but I want to give this book four and a half stars. It has this pull that almost seems magical to me. I want to know if this really happened. I loved how they each didn’t exactly fulfill their dreams, but it was similar enough that I would count it. I liked the way she organized the book with each girls story by themselves instead of telling little parts of each throughout the book. I could remember the details of each girl’s life better that way.

[Kelly Schuknecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I really enjoyed this book and I want to make sure that statement is clear before you read anything else.

That said, there are a lot of grammatical errors in the book. Not just a few here or there, but a LOT. Missing punctuation and typos are very distracting to me when I'm reading, but I enjoyed the story so much that once I was into it, I happened to notice those issues less often - not that they were occurring any less often, they just didn't distract me as much from the story. However, the version I read was the ePub version through my library and my guess (from my own experience) is that many of the errors were due to the conversion of the document to ePub format, not the author's errors. I still thought this feedback was important for potential readers (and the author/publisher).

About a quarter of the way through the book, I started to have some concerns about the religious theme that was developing and where it was headed. However, I found that as I read on, it got better (for me). The religious theme did not seem overly aggressive to one particular viewpoint, which I liked. I read some negative reviews from people who probably have stronger one-sided religious views than I do. It is no surprise that the writer of a spiritually themed book cannot please everyone because we all have different opinions when it comes to religion and God. However, I did not read into the religious theme that much, I just took it for what it was - a lighthearted, spiritually uplifting book.

Overall, the story line hooked me. I loved the characters, I loved the overall message. I would recommend this book for any woman who enjoys fiction, stories about friendship and has an interest in things of a spiritual nature.

[Georgia Herod · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this several years ago, but recalled being caught up in the plot line and the individual characters. The theme of women's friendships and how they play out over a lifetime is significant to me because I am part of a group of women who became good friends in college and have remained connected. We have experienced both hardship and joy--and have been encouragers to one another through it all: death of a spouse, divorce, disease, disappointment, loss of one to Alzheimers.

The characters in Blue Bottle Club are unique, each having dreams for life at age 15-16 which don't come true, but for whom life brings heartache and fulfillment. The women are dynamic characters, still discovering who they are, willing to take risks, to begin again, even in their eighties.

Perhaps the reason I like the book so much is that I'm a 60-something woman looking at who I am at this point in life--and setting some new dreams. I have felt a bit like Brendan Delaney, central character, who's restless, trying to figure out what's next in her career, friendships, and goals.

This is an easy read. I didn't feel that Stokes was "preachy,"
though there were times when I felt as if some aspects were repeated. I appreciated the fact that the women's relationship to God and their faith was a part of the natural flow of life--as it should be. Whoever thinks that being a woman of faith means that nothing bad will ever happen has bought a lie. The characters certainly were not excluded from pain and loss, but coming to grips with their faith made it possible for each of them to not merely survive, but overcome.

[Shana · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the eve of the Depression, four teen-age friends put their wishes into a blue bottle. Sixty-five years later, a reporter finds the bottle, and decides it is her purpose in life to find out what happened to these girls. The story moves and it is intriguing to read what happens and how these women lived their lives. Did all these wishes come true?

I kept reading to find out just why the reporter found so much fulfillment from tracking these stories -- why was this such a mission? I wasn't quite convinced. The book is classified as Christian literature, and it certainly was. It fit, although certainly isn't usually my choice of genre.

My biggest issue with the story, besides it being rather overdone, was how the author treated the reporter's trip to Minnesota. I have no problem with her arriving in a snow storm, but to be rescued (in 1994) by Sven and Lars Hanson, who live in Norseland is a bit much. But it continues -- the wife's name is Elke. This character, upon hearing the reporter's Irish sounding name says, "Irish. How fascinating. We don't hear many unusual names in these parts. Most of us are just plain old Hansons and Erdahls and Bjornsens and Rollenhagens..." Oh, PLEASE! I realize the author is from South Carolina, but really.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I happened upon this book at the public library, and remembered that a friend had recommended it. I liked the premise of the story very much: four young friends write their dreams for the future and put them all in a bottle which is then nestled in the rafters of an attic. 65 years later, the bottle is discovered by a reporter and she takes it as her personal journey to find out what became of each woman.

The reporter, Brendan, fell completely flat for me. I had no sympathy for her and related to her just on a very surface-level. Her angst seemed to be self-fulfilling and that always brings a lack of compassion from me.

The four friends, however, saved the rating for me. I loved how their stories were interwoven and took turns that were completely unexpected. I felt as if I was getting to know them as I read, and wanted to know more as the story wore on. I would have liked to be in the company of these friends.

While the book earns only 3 stars from me this time, it reads a bit like a first or second novel, and I will definitely read more by this author, hoping her style matures a bit.

Recommended.

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. I liked that all the characters were strong women in the face of adversity and unashamed of their mistakes, or the faith they had found. I liked that the book was based on friendships lost and then found again. And yes, I did cry when Brendan received the portrait. (But I cry at everything, so you can't count that as making this a great novel.)

The major problem with the book--the stories were too contrived. I had a hard time with the fact that the hardships put in their way seemed to all have very quick and "neat" answers. Despite that, the book did keep me interested. For example, initially I was turned off by the fact the Mary Love was a nun (not that I have anything against nuns :)). This book just seemed to be heavy handed in the Christian theme and often too preachy. But, hers turned out to be my favorite story.

I gave it three stars. One for the friendships. One for the reminder that our lives never turn out how we envisioned them at seventeen (thank goodness for that)--they turn out better. And one star for the nun.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four teenage friends gather in an attic one Christmas day to declare and place their life-dreams in a cobalt blue bottle while they pledged their eternal friendship, love, and support. They hide the bottle where no one else will find it, sure their futures are bright. Sixty-five years later the bottle is found, and a search for the stories of each of the four begins. This is a very sweet story and a pleasant, easy read. I was sure as I read it that I have seen a Hallmark movie made from this book in a previous year sometime.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book of this year! In 1929, 4 best friend teenage girls write their hopes and dreams for their lives on paper and place the paper in a blue bottle. The bottle is hidden in the attic and is not discovered for 65 years, when the house is being demolished. A TV reporter covering the demolition of the house is presented this bottle by a construction worker. The book travels back in time as the reporter locates each of the girls (now elderly women) and discovers if their lives took the courses they had planned. Very good book!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise of this book was engaging. Finding a bottle with the dreams of teenagers just before the stock market crash Brendan Delany tracks down their stories and on the way learns a lot about herself.

What I liked: Dreams come true but not always in the shape you originally hoped for.

What I didn't like: Four stories were one too many. I liked the first three women and the last one as well, but by then I'd grown a bit weary of the idea.

I'd recommend it for a beach read, rainy day or just because day.

[Diane Fournier · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reporter is given a blue bottle that was discovered during the demolition of an old building. Inside are four messages written years ago by high school friends about dream for their future. The reporter is able to track them down and discover how different their lives turned out than what they had written on that day. Enjoyed learning of how had lost touch with each other but still always remembered their promises made. Great story of how faith meant something different as they matured.

[Christine Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

1929 Christmas Day 4 girls put their dreams on paper in a blue bottle, which is put in the rafters. End of the century, the old house is torn down and it's found, gives the reporter doing the story on the demolition some hope for a decent story. She tracks down each girl, who went their separate ways in the immediate years afterwards and ultimately brings them all together. The book devotes several chapters to each girl, written in the present. Interesting.

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1929, four little girls write on paper the dreams for their lives and seal them in a bottle and hide it in an old mansion. Many years later the house is about to be demolished and it is found. It is so much fun to find out about the girls lives You HAVE to read this

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Its one of the best Christian fiction books I've ever read. The gist is. . . Life doesn't always turn out like we think it will, but God has a plan for each of us. This will make a good inspirational book club book.

[Elizabeth]

Sentimental to me because when we read it, the Teardrops brought blue bottles to the Muehl Public Library to see my new work setting.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew what was coming.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for a book club (not something I'd normally choose) and enjoyed it more than I expected.