What is your favorite book set near where you live? I would have to say Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder as my favorite book set in Wisconsin, but I loved the local setting and flare of The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County which was set in a fictional community in Wisconsin.
Esther Larson is known for her good cooking as part of the “funeral ladies” in her local church and community. After falling for an internet scam, she is in danger of losing her home. Her granddaughter, Iris, decides a great way for Esther to raise money and be able to keep her home would be to put together a cookbook with all their local recipes.

Cooper has come to Ellerie with his celebrity chef father and half sister for the funeral of his beloved stepmother. Cooper is suffering from PTSD from being a first responder at a tragedy. As he gets to know Iris and the community, will Cooper get a second chance?

My thoughts on this novel:
• I read this novel at the start of April as part of the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library. The general consensus of our book club was that we enjoyed this novel. The Wisconsin setting and characters were very relatable.
• I listened to the audiobook from the recommendation of my friend Carol (the head librarian and leader of our book club). It was delightful listening to the fun accents of the ladies, although we thought their accents seemed more from Minnesota than Wisconsin. Cooper, Esther, and Iris are all narrators of different sections of this novel, and they all had their own narrator in the audiobook which worked quite well.
• Cooper’s PTSD was difficult for everyone to deal with. It brought about a wonderful heart to heart conversation in the novel between Esther and Iris. Esther confesses that her husband, Iris’s grandpa, had suffered from PTSD after the war and it made their marriage difficult.
• I enjoyed the details of family, life, love, and small-town living. This was a very relatable story.
• It was funny that the church ladies were mostly Catholic and Lutheran, which is very typical of small-town Wisconsin.
• I liked that the book hit on difficult topics such as PTSD, internet scammers, alcoholism, family dysfunction, etc., but also how family and friends can pull together to help each other through their difficult times.
Overall, The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County by Claire Swinarski was a good book with a great midwestern flair, characters, and charm. It was especially delightful to listen to on audiobook.

This book was so good! It was a heartfelt exploration of grief, friendship, and the quiet strength of women supporting one another through lifes hardest trials. I love the humor and heart in this book!

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County by Claire Swinarski was my first book I read by this author and it won't be the last. It was a delightful story about a small community taking care of each other. It had small town vibes and I absolutely loved it. The characters were well written and I enjoyed watching the character development. This book was a heartwarming story and I will be suggesting it to my friends.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

I absolutely loved this book. The way the character development continued to evolve throughout the story was perfect! Once I started reading this book I literally could not put it down (I tried i really did). I can't wait till I can read more from this author

This book is like going home. I can see it as if I was there. The lake, screen doors slamming, friends acting as one unit. This is a real life.

I enjoyed reading The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County. The plot and characters were equally engaging. I give the book three stars because it was enjoyable without entirely standing out as one of the best books I've read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for providing me this Digital Advanced Readers Copy of the book!

This was a really fun book! I have figured out that I really enjoy reading books that have older characters. Their wisdom, carefree attitude in many instances, and their zest for life are refreshing. I coincidentally love the ones that are sometimes grumpy too!

This was a book about community and particular a small community that came together for whatever was needed. A book about a group of ladies taking care of others, especially in times of sadness.

There was also a little romance too! I enjoyed this one and would be interested in reading more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Having lived in Wisconsin for many many years, I loved the setting right from the start! Swinarski did a wonderful job painting the Midwestern charm of the Northwoods, and bringing these colorful characters to life. It had strong themes of family, sacrificial love, and the importance of community. It also dealt with some heavier topics and serious themes, which Swinarski weaved through the story seamlessly. In the future, I would just suggest that these are a little more represented in the blurb/beginning of the book, so readers have a heads-up that it's coming. Nevertheless, I've been a fan of Swinarski's other works (check out her middle school novels!) and definitely would recommend this as well!

This was fantastic! I loved the family relationships and the friendships of the community. I loved how the mmc left to heal and not continue to ignore the very real issues. This book was hard in spots, but I enjoyed it so much!

3.75⭐

I've been a fan of Claire Swinarski's work for a long time and was so excited for her adult debut! That being said, I wish this book had been really upfront with content warnings for PTSD, graphic mass shooting, cancer and a couple fatphobic comments. I thought this would be a save-the-community cozy read and the graphic descriptions on page made this book much more challenging.

I love the community that Claire built in this story and thinks she captured the beauty of the Midwest so well in this book. Esther and her family and the lake were this beautiful place where people come together in the good and the bad times and help each other learn about life. This book has some beautiful moments but it also has some really hard parts that I think would benefit from a few beta readers on the future. I look forward to seeing more adult novels from Claire!

Also where the heck did Cooper charge his Tesla in northern Wisconsin woods? There's no way there were Turbo Chargers up there.

This book delivers an intergenerational tale starring Esther and the Ellerlie County funeral ladies— the funniest and most sassy grandmas. I found myself chuckling continuously throughout the story. While I anticipated a lighthearted, humorous read—and it certainly had its moments of fun—the book also delved thoughtfully into complex issues like PTSD and trauma. I was genuinely surprised by the depth it brought to these themes. My only regret is that the story had to end—I’m eager to revisit these wonderful characters soon!

This book just was not for me.
I thought it would have been a cozy take on ladies who help with funerals.
Perhaps at another time I would enjoy it more.

What I like about this book:

1. It is the story of a small Midwestern community, and it hits all the right notes.
2. It reads like a cozy novel and sometimes you need those in life!
3. The family support of each other felt genuine and real.

What I wished was a little different:
1. There was a lot of swearing and excess drinking in the book which felt not real...it was over the top.

Thanks to Net Galley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC.

Charming & heartwarming — a balm for my little Midwestern heart!

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County tells a small-town Northwoods Wisconsin story of resilience and protecting the ones you love. There’s so many reflections on any number of heavy emotions and issues, but still a lightheartedness and comfort throughout. Just an incredibly solid read and sweet story about Midwestern values and family. A perfect summer read!

Esther has lived her entire life in Ellerie County and she and her friends serve meals at all the funerals.
Esther Larson has been cooking for funerals in the Northwoods of Wisconsin for seventy years. Known locally as the “funeral ladies,” she and her cohort have worked hard to keep the mourners of Ellerie County fed—it is her firm belief that there is very little a warm casserole and a piece of cherry pie can’t fix. But, after falling for an internet scam that puts her home at risk, the proud Larson family matriarch is the one in need of help these days. Iris, Esther’s whip-smart Gen Z granddaughter, would do anything for her family and her community. They decide to raise money by writing a cookbook and the community become ardent supporters. A story of friendship and family

I really loved the multi-generational tone of this title. It was SO true to life, from the drinking and swearing, to the role women play in the lives of everyone around them. It also showed that change is hard, even when it is necessary. It was a great book and I think any book club would enjoy it!

Well, well, well… I had to re-read about landing at my hometowns airport. THAT caught me off guard. This was a great read. Enjoyable to read at my family’s cottage in the northwoods of Wisconsin and felt so much like walking back into my hometown as I was reading this. This reminded me a lot of Amy E Reichert’s books and felt like a big hug as I was reading it in regards to multigenerational relationships and small towns.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
This was a great book and I'll be purchasing it for the library.