This sprawling saga featuring two octogenarian protagonists reads like a 19th century novel. Agnes Lee and Polly Wister have been friends their whole lives, growing up alongside each other in Philadelphia Quaker families and summering together in Maine. Agnes is beloved by the world as a bestselling children’s author, but not a living soul—including Polly—knows she also pens the popular and critically praised Franklin Square series. Polly knows Agnes sees her as a pushover, especially when it comes to her family, but Polly never lets on she’s wiser than her friend gives her credit for. When an enterprising (and nosy) young editor begins pestering Agnes to write a memoir, she sets in motion a chain of events that tests the women’s lifelong friendship, and threatens to expose the long-buried secrets each has so carefully kept from the other. If you want a big, rich, and immersive novel to sink into this summer, this 592-pager is just the ticket.

A story of a lifelong friendship between two women with all the ups and downs that life throws at them. Agnes and Polly have looked forward to summers spent at Fellowship Point on the coast of Maine along with the handful of other families. Now at the sunset of their lives Agnes persuades Polly to push the other families to dissolve a generational old trust and give the land back. This is a prickly point for many including Polly's children. Agnes has been approached by Maud to write her memoir and starts prodding Agnes to dig deeper and reveal the stories behind her popular children's book series. We are privy to the witty and sometimes caustic banter between Agnes and Polly. We are also able to read over Maud's shoulder as she reads Agnes's journals to discover the secrets and untold stories surrounding the very private Agnes. The secondary characters are just as entertaining and play a pivotal role in understanding life on Fellowship Point. Deep ties to family and lifelong friendships that seem more intimate than their marriages, this is a beautifully crafted book that quietly pulls you along like a lazy river. The perfect compliment to a summer retreat cold drink in hand as you gaze across the water. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

A slow paced story of friendships, relationships, and secrets.
Many thanks to Scribner and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

It was the beautiful cover and title of this book that caught my eye. Fellowship Point is about family, friendship, and secrets kept. Agnes and Polly, now in their 80's, have been lifelong friends. Both have family ties to summer homes in Fellowship Point, Maine. It is a long book. Some of the chapters seemed to drag and ramble in different directions and I would lose interest. If it wasn't for that, I feel I could have enjoyed this book more. Thanks to the author, publisher, and to NetGalley for providing a copy of this ebook for an honest review.

This is the story of two women who have been friends all their lives. Born into affluence, their ancestors built large homes in Maine, where their families spent their summers. The rest of the year they lived in Philadelphia. The Maine "cottages" built on Native American land, after William Lee, the grandfather of Agnes, formed an agreement with the Natives. Mr. Lee then formed a land trust with four other families, some friends, some family members. The dissolution of the land trust of Fellowship Point, Maine is the major conflict in the story and plays a major role in the characters' interactions.

Agnes and Polly have been friends since they were eight. When the book begins, they have already turned 80. Two more different people cannot be imagined. But their friendship truly works..

The characters in this story were wonderfully imagined and came alive throughout. The story itself was very interesting and kept me totally engaged. There is even a surprise plot twist near the end.

Fellowship Point, is a fantastic read and shouldn't be missed.

Fellowship Point
by Alice Elliott Dark
Pub Date: July 5, 2022
Scribner / Marysue Rucci Books
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This author is new to me. The premise seemed interesting but this book was rather slow going for me.
I did not find it as interesting as some of the other reviewers did.
Unfortunately, this book was not a good fit for me. I will not be recommending it at this time.
3 stars

Polly and Agnes are the very best of friends despite the different lives they've led. Agnes is a single woman, a loved children's book author and an author of an adult series that she published under a pen name. Polly chose marriage and motherhood, giving the best of herself to her family for years. Their lives intersect at Fellowship Point, a natural retreat that has been in their families for generations. At heart this book is about friendship and chosen family, while exploring themes such as feminism, environmental protection and the idea of land ownership versus stewardship. Fellowship Point is one of those special books that will live with me for a really long time.

I received ARC for an honest review, saw high reviews so started reading

I enjoyed the views on her cancer and mastectomy;
book got lengthy and I got lost.
I will try the book again when I have more time

I absolutely LOVED this book! It was beautifully written, poignant, and quite fitting for today, even though some of it takes place in different time frames. I loved the friendship between Agnes and Polly, and the fact that Polly wants to back her friend when she comes up with a plan to save the land. This book was heartfelt, emotional, and even had some arcs of feminism, which I always appreciate. I cannot say enough about Fellowship Point. It was simply wonderful.

From the description, I thought this book would be something I loved, but it was very slow moving and I didn't make it all the way through. I wanted to know more about Agnes' books and less about Sally's years as an obedient housewife. I'm sure there will be readers who enjoy the slower pace, but it just wasn't for me.

A little slow, to be honest, though thoughtful, well written, and with good character depth. Told from the perspective of an older woman looking to put her affairs in order and make sense of her life.

I read about a third of the book and decided to not finish. It was too slow for my liking. The plot and character development did not hold my attention to keep reading, especially with how long it is.

Author Agnes Lee has made a name for herself with a series of children’s books about character, Nan, a self-assured little girl who gets into all kinds of adventures, but her passion is more for the "fly on the wall" series of novels she writes under a pen name about her fellow moneyed Philadelphians. Her friend Polly Wister has made a life for herself as a mother and as a wife, dedicated to brightening the lives of those around her, soothing her husband’s fragile ego and striving never to rock the boat. Both born to generational wealth in an era when a woman’s best hope and expectation was to make a matrimonial match, the two take sharply divergent paths in their lives, but those paths always lead to summers on Fellowship Point in Maine. Agnes, having recently received a cancer diagnosis, is determined to find a way to preserve the wildlife sanctuary that exists on the families’ lands there and to finish one final novel before the end of her days. Unfortunately, money-grubbing cousin Archie and Polly’s husband, Dick, who is rapidly descending into dementia, stand in her way.

Fellowship Point is a long, contemplative book that touches on many themes – feminism, friendship, philosophy, aging, love, and land ownership. More than that, however, it’s a touching character study that illuminates the beauty of a friendship between two women who often couldn’t be more different from each other growing old side by side. I couldn’t put down this tale of forthright, opinionated spinster Agnes with her hidden heart of gold and equilibrium-seeking Polly whose deference and willingness to put her family’s needs ahead of her own belies an inner backbone and intelligence that often is a surprise even to her.

In Dark’s hands, Agnes and Polly’s beloved Maine comes vividly to life, and provides a setting rife with both fond and dark memories for the pair of octogenarians to reflect upon. I loved this story and the unique perspective of these women who are not ready to be pushed aside, even though society and their families both are hard at work trying to minimize them as they age. The slow unveiling of Agnes’s secrets keeps the pages turning, but arguably the best thing about Fellowship Point is the thoughtful depiction of a lifelong friendship between women who know each other often better than they know themselves.

I really enjoyed this author's other works, but this novel moved a little slowly for me. Ultimately, I didn't end up finishing this title.

Lengthy and leisurely paced story about two Quaker women whose friendship spans the 20th century. Polly is a devoted housewife, while Agnes is a single author of children's books and an anonymous chronicler of Philadelphia society.

Much of the narrative takes place at their summer homes in Maine, on land that was once a campground of the Abanaki and now is a bird sanctuary, and issues of land acknowledgement and conservation are addressed. As the past and present storylines evolve, secrets are revealed, reopening old wounds and testing the women's lifelong friendship.

Recommended for those who like old-fashioned, character-driven novels.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Choosing to broaden one's 'genre boundaries' does not always go as planned; once again, I've picked a book that is quite slow to get going and it's irritating. This is obviously a sticking point with me and not necessarily a fault of the book. This one may become a DNF or it may languish on my Kindle TBR list but I promise to try to chip away at reading a few chapters at a time. The reason I chose this book is that the primary characters are elderly and strong-willed ladies -- always fun to see in print -- who want to protect a special nature-filled plot of land that has been in their families for ages and in the sights of ruthless land developers.

Best wishes for a successful book launch.

A richly textured novel of friendship, of women's lives, of aging--Alice Elliott Dark's FELLOWSHIP POINT is a novel to be savored, studded with insights. The pacing is leisurely, so be prepared to be patient, but your patience will be rewarded with a memorable, intelligent read.

Fellowship Point is not a book to be raced through but instead savored page by page. Drawing the reader into the lives of octogenarian friends, Agnes and Polly and their very disparate lives. Growing up together in Philadelphia society and their quiet coastal Maine community, Agnes and Polly shared everything with each other; the joys and sorrows of family life, careers, one-true-loves and the muse for the series of children's books written by Agnes, "The Little Nan series." It takes decades for the two women to finally become honest with each other after they have a falling out which lasts more than a year, but health issues, death and changing times for the Fellowship Point they have always loved force them to break their silent treatment. In order to save the Point from development, Polly and Agnes must work together, setting aside their differences and in doing so, find that in the face of death, they can be truly honest about their relationship.

I'm going to agree with other reviewers and suggest the pacing of this novel is a bit slower than I'd expect. and While the vivd scenery and character building was extremely well done, I did find myself losing interest along the way. Overall it was an enjoyable book, but a slow burn.

A very well written book about three women, their lives and friendships and how they interact with each other. The characters and the settings are beautifully written, I live outside of Philadelphia and I can visualize all the places that the author describes, My one complaint is the book moves very slowly, I often wished that the author would tie things all together and come to the end. Other than that, I enjoyed the book.