Literary Lounge
IFIO Girl’s Literary Lounge
At IFIO Girl – I’ll Figure It Out, we celebrate the power of storytelling. Here, pages turn into portals where determined heroines solve impossible mysteries and brave women make history.
Our Literary Lounge embraces all paths to literacy and all voices in literature. Whether you’re a page-turner, screen-scroller, or audio enthusiast, you’ll find your perfect story format here. We believe in the power of every story which is why no book is ever banned in our space. Challenging narratives, diverse perspectives, and uncomfortable truths all have their place because powerful words deserve to be accessible to everyone, without exception.
Find your story your way. Support independent bookstores by shopping through Bookshop.org, or borrow ebooks and audiobooks from your local library right on your device with the Libby app. Because great stories should be easy to find, borrow, buy, and enjoy.
So settle in with your book, device, or headphones and immerse yourself in narratives that echo our IFIO philosophy.
September 2026
The September read/listen is Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
We’ll be reading or listening! throughout September, and we’d love for you to join us.
Choose the way you want to read:
Support an independent bookstore
Look for the book at your favorite locally owned bookstore or order through Bookshop.org, where your purchase can support independent booksellers.
Prefer the audiobook or Amazon?
The book and audiobook are also available on Amazon.
Use your library
Check your local library for the print book, ebook or audiobook. If they don’t currently have it, ask your librarian about requesting a copy or an interlibrary loan. And don’t forget about Libby! If your library participates, you can use your library card with the Libby app on your phone, tablet or other compatible device to borrow ebooks and audiobooks and take the Literary Lounge with you
However you get your copy, buy it, borrow it, download it or listen to it, come read with us.
August 2026
Our chosen book for August is The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett.
“A casserole is what you eat when you can’t think straight.” – Meg
This month, we are diving into the world of The Calamity Club by KathrynStockett, and what a journey it is. It’s a perfect fit for our lounge a story overflowing with strong, resilient women who embody the “I’ll figure it out” ethos in the face of overwhelming odds. Set in 1933 Mississippi, it follows the intersecting lives of the spirited orphan Meg and the fiercely loyal Birdie, as they and a band of other underestimated women band together to take control of their destinies through an audacious, heart-pounding plan. It’s a story about found family and the incredible things women can achieve when they refuse to be defeated by their circumstances. This book is filled with moments of profound strength and unexpected humor. Read or listen this book is fabulous – However, the audiobook was nothing short of magical.
What we are reading in July 2026
This month, the Literary Lounge is pairing two stories that were both deemed too much for their time.
I’m rereading Flowers in the Attic, V.C. Andrews‘ gothic classic that shaped a generation of readers in the 1980s and has landed back on banned and challenged book lists in the decades since. Coming back to it at 60 is its own kind of experiment, how does a story you thought you knew change when you’ve changed? No spoilers here, just an invitation to revisit it alongside me.
We’re pairing it with a shorter, sharper read: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This one has a banned-book story of its own before it was ever published, editor Horace Scudder of The Atlantic Monthly rejected it outright in 1890, writing to Gilman, “I could not forgive myself if I made others as miserable as I have made myself!” It didn’t see print until 1892, in The New England Magazine, and even then it unsettled readers (source: National Library of Medicine, “The Literature of Prescription: Reading ‘The Yellow Wall-Paper’”). A story about a woman’s mind and autonomy being dismissed and controlled, suppressed for being too disturbing to print.
Whatever you think of these stories individually, the choice to read them should be yours. Suppressing books whether by an editor’s desk in 1890 or a school board today doesn’t protect readers, it just decides for them.
Read or listen, the choice is yours today, but if neither one calls to you, pick up a book, any book, and read it anyway.
June’s 2026
Wolf Worm belongs in the ifiogirl literary lounge because it understands that the deepest horrors aren’t the ones that chase you through the woods they’re the ones that smile politely, offer you a job, and call you lucky to be there. The IFIO girl mindset isn’t about being fearless; it’s about being the one who figures it out when the world has already decided you don’t belong at the table. Sonia Wilson walks into a gilded nightmare armed with little more than her skill, her wits, and the quiet fury of a woman who knows her reputation isn’t her own. She doesn’t wait to be saved. She observes, adapts, and when the so-called men of science start trading flesh for discovery she is done playing by their rules.
May, 2026
“They need signs of my strength, not on the men around me”
-Chapter 14, My Lady Jane
This month, we’re stepping into a wildly different kind of story—because figuring it out doesn’t always mean suffering through a heavy read. My Lady Jane is witty, irreverent, and unapologetically fun. It takes history, twists it into something new, and reminds us that the “right” story is often the one we rewrite ourselves.
The IFIO Girl mindset? Trust your instincts, question the official version, and don’t be afraid to laugh while you’re saving your own life. Jane doesn’t wait for permission—she figures it out as she goes, with humor and heart.
Read or listen but DIVE IN!
April 2026
We read November 9th in April, and true to IFIO form, we spent the whole month asking wait, what’s really going on here? Fallon thought she had Ben figured out—until she didn’t. And isn’t that exactly what “I’ll Figure It Out” means? Trusting your instinct, even when the truth flips the script.
This book gave us tension, twists, and that uneasy feeling that something beautiful might also be something broken. We questioned Ben’s motives alongside Fallon, debated the fine line between romance and obsession, and reminded each other that figuring it out sometimes takes years—or at least one day a year, every November 9th.
April challenged us to look beneath the surface.
March 2026
Step into the atmospheric and chilling world of the Sun Down Motel, where two women, decades apart, refuse to let the mystery go. This is the perfect IFIO—I’ll Figure It Out—pick because it celebrates that unstoppable curiosity and grit that defines our community. When Carly discovers that her aunt Viv vanished from this very roadside motel in 1982, she doesn’t just accept the cold case; she moves to Fell, New York, to dig into the darkness herself. Faced with a haunting that refuses to stay buried and a town that isn’t talking, Carly embodies the IFIO spirit determined to uncover the truth, solve the puzzle, and figure out exactly what or who is responsible for her family’s haunting past.
For February, the IFIO Girl Literary Lounge is diving into My Friends by Fredrick Backman, and it’s the perfect pick for anyone who believes in figuring it out as you go. This is an IFIO Girl book because it celebrates the quiet, determined pursuit of understanding just like its protagonist, Louisa, who embarks on a cross-country journey to uncover the story behind a mysterious painting and the three tiny figures within it. It’s a testament to trusting your curiosity and piecing together the narratives that shape us, even when the path is unclear. While the story itself is a stunning exploration of friendship and art that shines on the page, the audiobook is also a wonderful companion, bringing an extra layer of warmth to Backman’s beautifully crafted world. Whether you read it or listen to it, this is a story about how we find our way, one small revelation at a time.
Atmosphere is a sweeping and intimate novel that follows Joan Goodwin, a reserved physics professor whose quiet life is upended when she answers NASA’s call for its first female astronaut candidates in 1980. Joan is a quintessential “IFIO girl -I’ll Figure It Out” protagonist, in the chapter Fall 1981 Joan has a discussion with Vanessa “Science is about figuring out the order to the universe”. She does not lead with bravado or loud command. Instead, her strength is a deep, quiet competency rooted in intellect, observation, and profound resilience.
For those considering the audiobook for January’s selection, the audio edition of Atmosphere provides a particularly immersive and compelling way to experience Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel. Whether you choose to read with your eyes or your ears, the story’s power shines through. For members who enjoy audio, this production is highly recommended and stands as a stellar example of how a great narrator can elevate an already brilliant story. BRAVO Julia Whelan!
prepare for FEBRUARY 2026 – My Friends By, Fredrick Backman
Bury Our Bones in thanks Midnight Soil (Released June 10, 2025) In December 2025, we dove into V.E. Schwab’s Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil because it was a story about women who refuse to be defined by the limitations placed upon them. Across three timelines spanning centuries, we meet women who refused to be bound by convention and instead took what they want. These characters embodied the IFIO Girl spirit: when faced with impossible circumstances, they figure it out on their own terms, even when the cost was high and the path was dark. We provided no spoilers here. Just read or better LISTEN to the audiobook.
One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford (Released July 15, 2025)
In Leigh Radford’s One Yellow Eye we meet Dr. Kesta Shelley a microbiologist who embodies the IFIO spirit in the most extraordinary circumstances. When a zombie apocalypse devastates London and claims her husband Tim. Instead of following protocol, Kesta channels her scientific expertise and unwavering determination into an impossible mission: keeping Tim hidden while desperately searching for a cure. This isn’t just about zombies it’s about a woman who looks at a problem and says “I’ll figure it out”. Kesta’s dedication to solving the unsolvable, her willingness to break rules and push boundaries, and her refusal to give up when everyone else has moved on perfectly captures what it means to be an IFIO Girl. Sometimes figuring it out means making choices that others can’t understand, and Radford’s haunting tale explores just how far one brilliant woman will go when love and science collide in the most devastating way possible
Published in 2024 this gripping novel follows the journey of courageous female nurses serving in the Vietnam War, who faced unimaginable challenges with determination and strength. Through their dedication to saving lives amid chaos, these women exemplify the IFIO spirit – stepping up, adapting, and figuring it out in the most demanding circumstances
Published in 2022 this witty and inspiring story about Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist who refuses to let 1960s gender barriers define her path. Elizabeth perfectly embodies the IFIO mindset she figures it out her own way, on her own terms.
Published in 1990, Mine stands as a gripping psychological thriller that perfectly embodies the IFIO Girl mindset. In this departure from McCammon’s supernatural horror roots, we follow Laura Clayborne, a woman whose life is suddenly upended when she faces an unimaginable personal crisis. When confronted with extraordinary circumstances and a crumbling marriage, Laura refuses to be a passive victim. Instead of waiting for systems or others to solve her problems, she channels raw determination and takes matters into her own hands. This thriller resonates with the IFIO Girl philosophy because Laura exemplifies the “I’ll Figure It Out” mentality at its core. When conventional paths fail, she creates her own. The novel explores how ordinary people can discover extraordinary strength when pushed beyond their limits, demonstrating that the power to overcome life’s most devastating challenges often comes from within.
Published in 1908 a timeless treasure for readers of all ages, “Anne of Green Gables” introduces us to Anne Shirley, a fiercely imaginative orphan who transforms her world through creativity, determination, and unshakeable optimism. From ages 8 to 108, readers will fall in love with Anne’s spirit as she figures out life’s challenges with imagination and heart.
Margaret Atwood’s haunting dystopian novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” follows Offred, a woman whose fierce inner resilience persists despite Gilead’s oppressive regime. Stripped of her identity and forced into reproductive servitude, Offred navigates a society where women’s bodies are controlled and their potential diminished. Offred embodies the IFIO spirit—finding ways to preserve her humanity and seek freedom even in the most dehumanizing circumstances. Atwood’s powerful narrative serves as both a warning and an inspiration, reminding us that even in the darkest environments, the capacity to think independently and fight for one’s autonomy cannot be completely extinguished.
In Kristin Hannah’s powerful novel The Nightingale, two French sisters navigate the brutal landscape of Nazi-occupied France with unflinching determination and courage. Vianne, a practical mother forced to house a German officer, makes impossible choices to protect her daughter while quietly resisting in ways that save countless lives. Meanwhile, her younger sister Isabelle transforms from impulsive rebel to fearless resistance fighter. Through their distinct journeys, Hannah masterfully illustrates how women’s strength manifests in different but equally powerful forms—Vianne’s quiet resilience and Isabelle’s bold defiance both embodying the “I’ll Figure It Out” spirit when faced with unimaginable circumstances. This heartbreaking yet ultimately triumphant story reminds us that in the darkest times, ordinary women can discover extraordinary courage within themselves. Soon to be a Motion Picture
The Briar Club weaves a captivating tale of unlikely female friendship in McCarthy-era Washington, DC. When mysterious widow Grace March moves into Briarwood House, she transforms a group of isolated women into a powerful support network. Quinn masterfully portrays how these diverse characters—from a former baseball star to a police officer’s daughter entangled with gangsters—navigate the paranoia and shifting gender expectations of 1950s America. As these women bond over attic dinners and sun tea, they must ultimately confront a shocking betrayal that tests their newfound solidarity. This historical thriller brilliantly captures how women with an “I’ll figure it out” mindset can overcome personal trauma and societal constraints through collective strength and resilience.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” perfectly embodies the spirit of our IFIO (“I’ll Figure It Out”) Girl Literary Lounge. Set in 1970, this powerful story follows fifteen-year-old Fern and other young women at Wellwood House, where they’re sent to hide their pregnancies and give up their babies. What makes this novel essential IFIO reading is how these young women, despite being controlled and silenced by authority figures who claim to know what’s best, find ways to reclaim their power. These “wayward girls” refuse to remain passive in their circumstances.
IFIOGirl 