“Let’s read this new author, Elizabeth Strout, I’ve heard so much about,” suggested Mary to our book group soon after we’d formed in 1998. We often deferred to Mary’s suggestions, knowing her refined literary taste. “What’s the book called, and what’s it about?” we asked. “ Amy and Isabelle and it’s the story of 16-yearold Amy and her strained relationship with her mother, Isabelle. Amy falls for her math teacher, who tells her she looks like a poet,” explained Mary.