There’s a natural period of reflection that comes with the end of the year. We look back on the past 11 months, perhaps through rose-colored glasses, with a certain nostalgic haze blurring the low points. Or maybe it’s the promise of a new year—a fresh start, a chance to do everything over again in just a few weeks—that calls to you, making you ready to slam the door shut on 2026. With that December energy in mind, when selecting our final book club pick of the year, we knew we wanted a book that captured how introspective the month is. The second Garri and I heard the premise of Under Story, we knew it was exactly the kind of speculative “what if” story the end of the year demands.
At its heart, Under Story is a story about love, wrapped in a sweeping narrative with incredibly immersive sci-fi elements. I found myself completely immersed in its world from page one, and I know you will be too. Here’s everything you need to know about our December book club pick, Under Story.
Our December Book Club Pick: Under Story
The New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists returns with an intimate yet epic love story—and a sweeping odyssey of scientific discovery. Under Story invites us to consider the promise of this life, what might lie beyond it, and how far we would go for more time with the people we love.
Biologist Laurel Salter is hiding from everything she’s ever known. For ten hours a day, six days per week, she works as a dishwasher at McMurdo Station, an isolated research base in Antarctica. She tells no one that before she arrived, she was a renowned young scientist with a promising career and a family.
But even in this remote outpost, Laurel can’t escape her past. When a strange light appears across the ice—and draws a group of physicists to McMurdo—her former husband, Eli, won’t be far behind. Laurel is captivated by the Arc, and though Eli is reluctant to test her wildest theory, Laurel is convinced that the Arc leads down a rabbit hole and into a world they can barely imagine. Can she persuade him to risk everything to fix the burden that hangs between them—to turn back the clock and live their story a second time?
When is the book club meeting?
Our meetings will take place on the final Thursday of every month, where we’ll dive deep into every thought, theory, and feeling about the book—gently guided by discussion questions we’ll send out the week prior so you have plenty of time to gather your thoughts. However, with the holidays, the last couple of months of the year look a little different.
JOIN US: January 7, 2027, at 7:30 PM CST: Reserve your spot at the meeting and get the Zoom link here!
Sign up for our email list to receive the discussion questions!
And don’t worry. There will still be plenty of time for the reading-related tangents we all love to spiral into. If you can’t make it one month, that’s okay, we’ll continue the conversation online through the Book Club BFF group, so you’re always in the loop.
What is The Everygirl Book Club?
The Everygirl has been recommending and reviewing books for years, delivering our unfiltered opinions on what’s worth your time—from the buzzy books TikTok can’t shut up about to debut authors you have to know. After years of connecting with our readers through a shared love of books, we were craving a space where we could hear more directly from you and, instead of just telling you what we’re reading, actually read together. The Everygirl Book Club is a monthly book club with a reading pick (carefully vetted and chosen by yours truly), which we’ll all read together, chitchatting in our BFF Group while we binge, culminating in our monthly live book club discussion. Between meetings, you can also look forward to plenty of book recommendations and hilariously relatable bookish content (not to toot our own horn). More than anything, The Everygirl Book Club is a community by readers, for readers.
You can trust our recommendations
Worried you won’t love the read one month? We get it, your time is precious, and you don’t want to waste it reading a book that feels like a chore to finish. But rest assured, we are committed to choosing books we know our readers will love. Our picks will span genres, so depending on the month, you may be diving into your favorite category or stepping slightly outside your comfort zone. What you can always trust is that every book is hand-selected by a team of readers who are just as obsessed with reading as you are. We can’t wait to hear what you think.
What’s next?
So now that you’re caught up on all things The Everygirl Book Club, what’s next?
- Sign up for our exclusive Book Club email list to be the first to know everything
- Follow us on Instagram and join our Bumble BFF Group to join the conversation
- Grab your copy of Under Story and get to reading!
We hope to see you at the meeting, but until then, let’s chat online!
Lauren Blue, Editor & Book Club Co-Host
As an Editor for The Everygirl, Lauren ideates and writes content for every facet of our readers’ lives, from must-read books and behind-the-scenes interviews to beauty products she can’t live without. When she isn’t sitting in an AMC watching the latest buzzy release, she can be found scouring Goodreads for the perfect pick for The Everygirl Book Club. There, she co-hosts discussions with members, debating plotlines, fancasting characters, and, of course, tossing in her own recommendations.
