The Phoenix Pencil Company A Novel

A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK

In this luminous debut, Allison King weaves a spellbinding story about the power of memory, the weight of family secrets, and the magic hidden in the most ordinary objects. The Phoenix Pencil Company is the kind of book that makes you want to linger over every page—a sweeping, cross-generational tale that feels both intimate and epic.

Meet Monica Tsai, a college freshman more comfortable behind a screen than in a crowded room. She’s building a program to connect strangers online, all while worrying about her beloved grandmother, Yun, whose memories are beginning to slip away like sand through fingers. When Monica discovers a mysterious pencil that holds the key to her family’s hidden past, she uncovers something extraordinary: the women in her family possess the ability to Reforge pencils, bringing the memories contained within them back to life.

The narrative braids together Monica’s present-day search with Yun’s vivid memories of wartime Shanghai, where she and her cousin Meng worked at the Phoenix Pencil Company during WWII. As they learn to harness their gift, they’re forced into dangerous espionage, betraying others’ stories to survive. King masterfully explores questions that will stay with you long after the final page: Who owns our stories? How do we preserve what matters most?

Perfect for readers who loved A Tale for the Time Being and The Midnight Library, this is a story about connection, legacy, and the unbreakable threads that bind families across oceans and generations.

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