Jenna Bush Hager says “Buckeye” by Patrick Ryan, her September 2025 Read With Jenna pick, is a “once-in-a-decade novel.”

“You read it once and then, even though it’s 500 pages, want to reread again,” she says.

The story is set in the small town of Bonhomie, Ohio, “basically over a lifetime” — from the start of World War II to the end of the Vietnam War.

“We meet two families whose lives intersect in ways that upon Page 1 you could never expect. We watch as America changes and these two families’ lives change,” Jenna says.

"Buckeye" by Patrick Ryan

“I underlined so many parts of this book to share as inspiration. I fell in love with these characters,” she says.

In the book, Bonhomie locals Margaret Salt and Cal Jenkins come together briefly during the exuberance of the Allied victor

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