Literary Fiction · Free kit
The Names
England, 1987. After a history-making storm, Cora walks her nine-year-old daughter Maia to the registrar to name a newborn son. Her husband Gordon — a respected local doctor and a terrifying presence at home — expects the boy to take his name, as the men in his family have. Cora has three names in her head: Bear, the one Maia invented; Julian, the one she chose; and Gordon, the one she has been told to write. The novel follows all three lives, seven years at a time, and asks what a single act of naming can set in motion — and what no name can protect you from.
“Or perhaps, and this is her real concern, she'll formalize who he will become.”
Complete free book club kit
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Plan your meeting
The Names Printables
Get the full printable pack on Etsy, or print individual pages from Bingo, Discussion Questions, and Hosting.
Three-name sticker sheet
Die-cut stickers inspired by a registrar's stamp, fir branches, a silver ring, a bear, and three handwritten names — for journals or meeting favors.
Included in printable pack
Favorite quote cards
Blank cards for the line that stayed: the formalize-who-he-will-become sentence, Maia on soft-and-brave, or whatever your group underlined in a seven-year jump.
Included in printable pack
Character superlatives ballot
Vote Cora vs. Maia vs. the three sons vs. Sílbhe in categories that will start arguments, then tally out loud.
Included in printable pack
Book club invite
Printable invite with the kit's hook, the three-name door-draw joke, and meeting details.
Included in printable pack
Name-story cards
Small cards for guests to write a name they were given, almost given, or gave someone else — optional, and easy to skip.
Included in printable pack
Review sheet
Likes/dislikes for the three timelines, the seven-year structure, the ending, and comfort-to-heartbreak ratio.
Included in printable pack