Friday, August 01, 2025

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal (2023) is my second read by this author. 

The first, The Lager Queen of Minnesota, was a book group assignment. My group liked this book. I liked this book. But those of us that listened, found character and timeline switches were confusing in audio format.

I started Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal on a long flight with patchy WiFi. 

The character and timeline changes were very confusing on this second title too. I very much needed a character list, but could not get one because of the poor inflight WiFi.

At my connection, I compiled a list. 

Here are the characters with no spoilers -

Betty:
The matriarch of the family, known for her ability to find the good in difficult situations. 

Florence:
Betty's daughter, who initially struggles with her mother's optimism and later navigates her own challenges with her daughter Mariel. 

Mariel:
Florence's daughter, who grapples with her complicated relationship with her mother. 

Julia:
Mariel's daughter.


In summary - I liked this book very much, but it was confusing in the beginning. Once I got into it and had good WiFi to get a character list, it was much better.


I maintain accounts on GoodReads and StoryGraph, thanks to youngest getting me organized. 

StoryGraph - 




J. Ryan Stradal was not listed on my normal website https://www.bookseriesinorder.com

I think these are all his books -

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, published by Viking / Pamela Dorman Books in April 2023

The Lager Queen of Minnesota, published by Viking / Pamela Dorman Books in July 2019.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest, published by Viking / Pamela Dorman Books in July 2015.