Unfortunately this book was not for me and I couldn’t finish it, which I can’t recall ever happening before.

Maybe the book was supposed to be exaggerated and funny, but I could not take it seriously because people do not behave the way the characters in this book do. I also find it unpleasant to read a first person narrative of a woman who is falling apart like this.

But you will never convince me that a nearly 30 year old woman whose mother called her ‘Bunny’ (her given name is Darcy) and who refers to her father as Daddy would go home to them after her marriage ends only to learn they’ve moved to Arizona without telling her.

And you will never convince me that a boss will offer a six month leave and then renege on it in a ridiculous email.

I don’t know who this book was for, but it’s not me. I’m giving it a generous 3 stars in the off chance it would have improved if I stuck with it but there are too many books to be read to force myself to stomach this one.

Thanks to Mariner Books for an advanced copy of Community Board.

This could have been an interesting book but it wasn't really my cup of tea. Darcy's husband has just left her and she runs to her parent's house to find out they've gone to Arizona for a year (without telling her). So she takes an unplanned isolation to try to figure out her life.

I couldn't take Darcy. She had zero emotional skills to solve any of her life problems and while maybe some might find her "growth" I was annoyed and couldn't believe she could be that helpless.

I should have DNFd this book.

The plot may be a common one—a woman who was just broken up with by her partner deals with the emotional upheaval by shutting down & eventually finding her new self—but the different ways authors approach it are what make readers enjoy the stories.

In her new novel, Tara Conklin leans heavily on humor & quirkiness to relate how Darcy Clipper, a sheltered 29-year-old, ends up coming out of a depression & using people in her hometown community of Murbridge, MA, to build her up after her husband Skip leaves her for another woman.

After retreating to her childhood home in Murbridge (and realizing her parents have up & moved to a retirement community in AZ without telling her), Darcy stays holed up in the house, eating canned food from her parent's pantry & getting her only "human" interaction from the funny, rude, sad, and intriguing messages the other residents of the town leave on the community message board. She also talks to Fred, the fern she had growing up—which is no longer in her house.

At first it's endearing and funny, but then it just becomes a bit too frivolous—all without much serious emotional reflection and change. I felt bad for Darcy, but, more often, I lost emotional investment in her challenges because of the constant community board postings, drafted emails, and chatting with phantom plants. I felt horrible for her, but I couldn't get too emotionally attached to her journey since she seemed to default to humor instead of actual emotional assessment and change.

I really wanted to love this one—but, unfortunately, I didn't. As a main character, Darcy just seemed too one-dimensional. The story does have its moments of humor and heart, but somehow it didn't gel together to be a completely satisfying read or even a distinct take on a well-worn but still viable girl-loses-partner-but-finds-herself narrative.

Community Board, by Tara Conklin, was both a fun and occasionally laugh-out loud funny novel about a 30-year-old who returns to the town she grew up in when she is left by her husband for another woman. Nonetheless, it was also tedious. I had the sense that the protagonist sort of reveled in her abandonment by both spouse and parents. It also seemed to go on and on and on... This might make an entertaining movie as the supporting characters are interesting and funny. Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Tara Conklin - 4.5 stars!

Darcy has returned to her parents' house in Murbridge, MA, after her husband suddenly left her for another woman. Then she finds out her parents moved to Arizona without telling her to try out a retirement village. Darcy can't bother to go to work, get dressed, or shower. She begins eating the stored food in her parents' basement so she doesn't have to go out. She becomes involved reading Community Board (similar to Next Door) and getting involved in the internet threads.

This is a light-hearted book with a big message - we are social creatures and we need each other. Darcy certainly wallowed in her misery and social anxiety, but she was always trying to help too. I loved the way the story spooled out - we get Darcy's POV, but also read the draft emails she never sends to her ex, the emails she does send to her parents, Darcy's interpretations of National Geographic profiles, and all those crazy, quirky Community Board posts. Darcy meets a big cast of interesting characters in her journey and you'll fall in love with some of them. Great read!

When I first read Conklin's The House Girl, I knew she would be a writer I would love. I have The Last Romantics waiting for me on my kindle, and can honestly say after reading Community Board, she is most definitely an author that I love.

Community Board follows the story of Darcy, whose husband leaves her for his skydiving instructor. She decides to head back to her childhood home in Western Mass, figuring some TLC from her parents would help her. She arrives finding they've moved to Arizona without telling her. From there, she hunkers down and begins her self-imposed isolation, complete with canned goods from her parent's cellar.

I loved that Conklin took what are tough subjects; grief, depression, and divorce, and turned it into a quirky and beautiful story of someone trying to figure out who she is, what she wants out of life, and realizing what she wants in the world. I adored the characters. They came to life off the page. Not to mention, the community boards post themselves to tell a story.

I also loved that it was set in Western Mass, where I spent four years during college. Westfield is even mentioned a few times, and it was super fun to see.

Definitely a great read! 4.5/5 stars
Thank you Mariner Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

Darcy is recently left by her husband Skip, and holes up in her childhood bedroom back in her hometown. It’s quirky and I usually love quirky, but this one did not work for me. It reminded me of Really Good, Actually meets Small World (both books I really adored), but it didn’t work the same way for me.

I had high hopes for this one since I loved The Last Romantics and I love reading the absolute randomness that is my Nextdoor message board. Unfortunately, I zoned out at about 25%, started skimming around 50%, and ended up quitting at 80%. I'd rather read Nextdoor.

Coming-of-age story of a 30 year old (going on 13) who has recently separated from their spouse who retreats home to find direction. Like a caterpillar, Darcy retreats into the dark, comforting cocoon of her childhood home only to emerge transformed.

Fun cast of characters, even if our MC Darcy is a tough pill to swallow . Posts from the titular community board are fun, just wish there was more of it.

This story is about Darcy and how she deals with the aftermath of being dumped for a skydiver by her husband. She moves back to her hometown and into her parents’ house. While the book kept my attention, I did not particularly like the character of Darcy. I also found the lack of quotation marks impaired the flow of the story. The ending of the book was very satisfying, however, and made me glad I had read the book! Thanks to NetGalley for the copy of this book.

29 year old Darcy Clipper decides to move back home with her parents in Murbridge, Massachusetts after her husband leaves her for another women. Darcy arrived home to find her parents in Arizona and begins a months long battle of self imposed isolation and depression. Throughout that time, the online community board of her town keeps her in the loop of what is going on around her as she slowly finds ways to help herself heal.
My overall impression of this book is that it was ok. I liked the concept of the community board and the postings in the book. I liked the Fanny character and Marcus but it’s really Darcy who was boring, dull and extremely immature. The book was a quick read and it was cute but I’m not sure I’d recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for an ARC copy in exchange for a review.

I can’t finish this book. The lack of punctuation is driving me crazy. The story line is very appealing and I wonder if my copy is corrupted, or is that how the author chose to tell the story?
It’s too hard. It’s too much work to figure out what is internal monologue, what is dialogue, who is speaking, and to whom. Sorry. This one just didn’t work for me.

This quirky and quite funny book has a very slow start so be ready. Stick with it - I promise it picks up.

Darcy is a 29 recently separated, (who in no way was ready for her husband to suddenly leave her for another woman) regimented and someone emotionally stunted woman.. To say she is devastated is an understatement. She takes time away from her job and goes to her childhood home in Murbridge, MA to figure out her next moves. Once she arrives though - she realizes her parents have essentially moved to a senior community in Arizona without telling her. This news just sends her more fully into a tailspin. She survives on canned food her parents stored in preparation for the unknown consequence of the year turning 2000.

In a series of unsent letters to her ex-husband, messages on the community board and emails to her parents, she starts off as a self-absorbed, quite unlikeable character who blames her indulgent and loving parents for most of her problems. Lucky for the reader though, she is forced to come out of her forced hibernation in order to earn money once her stash of canned food is running out. She begins in essence to redefine the person she is into the person she wants to be. In the process she finds community, finds purpose, self-awareness and maturity.

She is such a quirky character and this book had me laughing out loud so many times. It is not a long book, so it felt like a quick, easy read. The last half of the book felt much more deep and meaningful. I definitely enjoyed this book, but I wouldn't say it blew me away. I loved the humorous bits and I loved so many of the zany community characters.

"But more often the end comes, kaput, without fanfare or signal."

Basically this is story of a woman who feels like she has lost everything, even herself. Then she must figure out how to redefine herself and move on. Definitely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC to read and review.

Thank you to Book Club Girls and Mariner Books for this ARC.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. Everything just seemed too cute by half and was trying to include too much. This combined with the formatting (a lack of quotation marks, in particular) just made this a hard book to get through. There were also whole passages describing random National Geographic articles.

Obviously, Conklin has great talent but this was just an overall miss for me.

This character-driven novel follows an almost-30-year-old Darcy after her husband "skips" town (his name is Skip 🤣) with a skydiving instructor and she sublets their condo to move back in with her parents… but when Darcy arrives at the house she grew up in, her parents aren't there. Unbeknownst to her, they have relocated to a retirement community in Arizona for a one year trial period to see how they like the dry heat. Frustrated and feeling abandoned by everyone who she thought loved her, Darcy isolates herself in her parents' home, surviving on an overwhelming supply of canned food and talking to her favorite fern, Fred, although Fred also is no longer at the house. When she finally starts to leave the house again, Darcy has some interesting experiences, including finding lost pets, testing a trampoline, and assisting at a ring toss. If this quirky description sounds like your kind of sarcasm-filled fun, you should definitely check this book out!
I enjoyed reading Community Board because it was different from anything else I've read - and I read a lot of different styles and types of books! The writing brought me right inside Darcy’s mind, feeling her struggle to cope. I thought the ending brought a realistic sense of hope.
Thank you to Book Club Girl and Mariner Books for the NetGalley access in exchange for my honest opinion. This book comes out Tuesday 3/28 - I hope you check it out if it sounds interesting to you. I don’t think it will be everyone’s cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it!

Darcy Clipper, 29 years old and recently dumped by her husband for another woman, heads to her hometown of Murbridge to drown her sorrows at her parents home. However, unknown to her, parents have relocated to Arizona and the town is filled with lots of new and unknown people. Over the next 100 plus days, we follow Darcy from her self-imposed isolation to the slow path of recovery and making new friends and getting her life back. An uplifting easy read!!

3 1/2 stars

While Community Board had a great deal of promise, it moved very slowly for me. Twenty-nine year old Darcy Clipper has just been "skipped out on" by her husband Skip. She decides to return home to her parents where she anticipates they will shower her with comfort and love. But when she gets there, she finds they aren't home. They in fact are in another state temporarily and are contemplating selling the family home. Darcy is set adrift where nothing feels solid and she withdraws into herself and doesn't leave her parents' house for days.

Once Darcy does finally start venturing out, she meets some people who help her to start figuring out what life can be moving forward. Because up until now, Darcy is just taking the safe route in everything she does without really living life. Even though the book does pick up a bit, it still didn't grab my attention the way I would have liked.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

the actual community board postings were a refreshing and interesting inclusion to this otherwise pretty flat story, I wish there were more of them or even have the whole story told through posts. it focuses on recently single Darcey, approaching 30, trying to figure out how to move on with her life. although we are the same age and at similar life points, for some reason i never really connected to her as a character and therefore the story didn’t do much for me

Community Board is a coming of age story about 29 year old - only child- recently dumped Darcy Clipper. She returns home to Murbridge, Massachusetts only to discover her parents have left home. Darcy slowly starts to relearn her hometown after while dealing with the shock of her broken marriage. The novel takes a fairly humorous turn as she connects with people and makes friends with Marcus, a stay at home dad with a dream to build the ultimate play area for the community. There is a lot of humor in the make up of the town, its history and its Internet bulletin board. My favorite part of the novel is the use of old National Geographic magazines in Darcy's home. Like those of my childhood, no one ever touched them and yet they were saved like collector's items. Conklin uses references to various people from various issues to good effect. A romp of a book. Fun. Quick read. Feel good.

Thank you NetGalley, Book Club Girl, and Mariner Books for the copy of Community Board by Tara Conklin. While I loved the postings from the community group, everything else was flat for me. A story about a 29 year old woman who can’t take care of herself is not my cup of tea, so I guess I am not the right reader for this book. Darcy was so helpless emotionally and physically it was insulting. If you’re looking for a light-hearted story about the trial and tribulations of a newly single woman you might really like this. It just wasn't for me.