Literary Fiction · Free kit
Under Story
After the death of their son Silas, mycologist Laurel Salter and physicist Eli Rosen fracture — she flees to Antarctica to wash dishes at McMurdo Station while he chases a strange light in the ice called the Arc. When the Arc proves to be a portal to the Duoverse, where time runs backward, Laurel and Eli step through hoping to undo tragedy. They take the places of their younger selves, age in reverse toward birth, and wait for Silas to be born again — asking how far love will go for one more tomorrow, and what it costs the planet they leave behind.
“We wake up to tomorrow, never yesterday.”
Complete free book club kit
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Plan your meeting
Under Story Hosting Guide
A free, printable-minded plan for hosting Under Story.
Invite hook
“What if the only way forward was a universe where time runs backward?”
The question you’re arguing about: How far would you go for one more tomorrow with someone you lost — and who pays the cost?
Shopping list
- □Hot cocoa bar with marshmallows (McMurdo morale night)
- □White chocolate bark with teal-blue drizzle (ice / accent color nod)
- □Savory mushroom tartlets or stuffed mushrooms (mycology — keep it elegant, not gimmicky)
- □Mineral-water sparklers with citrus (clean, cold, Antarctic-adjacent)
- □Teal napkins or table runner (#1a4a5c) with simple snowflake or spore-print placeholders
- □Printed bingo cards and pens
- □Index cards for guests to write a line that stuck with them (quote wall)
Day-of timeline
- 0–10 minWelcome & icebreakers (reader-focused, plot-free)
- 10–20 minTrivia warm-up
- 20–50 minMain discussion — pause if child-loss topics need air
- 50–60 minWould You Rather or Speed Debate
- 60–70 minBingo + rating round & next book vote
Surprise touch
Hide a small printed spore-print circle or snowflake under one plate with a note: ‘Something grows under the visible story — check under your dish.’ It nods to mycology without spoiling the portal.
Wrap-up
- □Group photo with teal/ice props or the typographic cover accent
- □One-word rating round (expect words like ‘devastating’ or ‘cosmic’)
- □Share one line from the book — many groups pick the tomorrow/yesterday quote
- □Vote on next month’s book