Buckeye by Patrick Ryan

Tuesday, June 23rd @ 6:30pm at Cap City Diner (6644 Riverside Drive, Dublin, OH 43017)

About the Book

Covering a half-century of the lives of two couples and their families, Buckeye is set in the fictional town of Bonhomie, Ohio.  At once sweeping and intimate, Buckeye is about how life even in small town America is not insulated from the effects of massive world events. Beginning with World War II and ending in the 1980s, Ryan tells us the story of the uniquely American 20th century through the eyes of Margaret and her husband Felix, and Becky and her husband Cal, who become inextricably intertwined.

The book is a character-driven saga praised for its heartfelt, funny, and realistic portrayal of love, war, family, and the secrets that bind and divide people, weaving personal drama with major American historical events. 

About the Author

Patrick Ryan was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Florida. He’s a graduate of Florida State University and Bowling Green State University’s Creative Writing Program in Ohio.

His first book, the linked story collection Send Me, was published by Dial Press in 2006 and was chosen for Barnes and Noble’s Discovery Series. His second story collection, The Dream Life of Astronauts, was published by Dial Press in 2016, was named one of the Best Books of the Year by the St. Louis Times-Dispatch, LitHub, and Electric Literature, and was long-listed for The Story Prize. He’s also published three books for young adults: Saints of Augustine (HarperTeen, 2007), In Mike We Trust (HarperTeen, 2009), and Gemini Bites (Scholastic Press, 2011).

His novel Buckeye, published by Random House in September of 2025, became a New York Times bestseller, a Read with Jenna pick, Amazon’s Best Book of 2025, a Barnes & Noble National Book Club Selection, a finalist for Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year, and a Book-of-the-Month Club Selection. Buckeye is published by Bloomsbury in the U.K. and currently has seventeen international publishers.