The Groundbreaking Circle

Our lit circle has been loving Maggie Shipstead’s 2021 Booker Prize nominated novel Great Circle! Being an all-female group, Shipstead’s emphasis on feminism as really caught our attention and made this book very engaging. We appreciate how she highlights the struggles of being a female in a male dominated career, and how strong she has made these women in order to overcome their setbacks. Marian Graves knew she had to go into uncharted territory, doing something no one had ever done before in order to be noticed as a female pilot. Hadley Baxter has to navigate the tricky life of stardom, balancing her mistakes and choices with the watchful eye of the press and the public never leaving her side. Through it all, these women truly are empowering symbols for all who have the pleasure of reading this book.

We have composed a podcast discussing feminism in addition to more of our favorite themes and moments of this groundbreaking novel which we have linked here. We also discuss our journey through project based learning (PBL) and social emotional learning (SEL). We encourage you to take a listen and go on this deep dive journey with us as we learn more!

The Great Circle Final Podcast