Wellfleet Public Library

The Harvey Girls

1926: Charlotte Crowninshield was born into one of the finest Boston society families. Now she's on the run from a brutal husband, desperate to disappear into the wilds of the Southwest. Billie MacTavish is the oldest of nine children born to Scottish immigrants in Nebraska. She quit school in the sixth grade to help with her mother's washing and mending business, but even that isn't enough to keep the family afloat. Desperate, both women join the ranks of the Harvey Girls, waitresses who serve in America's first hospitality chain on the Santa Fe railroad. Hired on the same day, they share three things: a room, a heartfelt dislike of each other... and each has a secret that will certainly get them fired. Through twelve-hour days of training in Topeka, Kansas, they learn the fine art of service, pertecting their skills despite bouts of homesickness, fear of being discovered, and a run-in with the KKK When theyre sent to work at the luxurious El Tovar hotel at the Grand Canyon, the challenges only grow, as Billie struggles to hide her young age from would-be suitors, and Charlotte discovers the little-known dark side of the national park's history.

Juliette Fay is the bestselling author of eight novels, including 2023's The Half of It, 2021's Catch Us When We Fall, 2019's City of Flickering Light, and the 2016 USA TODAY bestseller The Tumbling Turner Sisters. A graduate of Boston College and Harvard University, she lives in Massachusetts.