Synopsis: A.J. Fikry owns a failing bookshop. His wife has just died, in tragic circumstances. His rare and valuable first edition has been stolen. His life is a wreck.
Amelia is a book rep, with a big heart, and a lonely life.
Maya is the baby left on A.J.’s bookshop floor with a note.
What happens in the bookshop that changes the lives of these seemingly normal but extraordinary characters?
This is the story of how unexpected love can rescue you and bring you back to real life, in a world that you won’t want to leave, with characters that you will come to love.
5 Stars from me!
Ahhhh what a sad yet happy book this is.
I wasn’t at all sure what to expect from this book, I would class it as a light read yet it does dip into a few literary quotations (without being preachy or feeling like it is attempting to educate you!).
I loved the relationship between Fikry and Maya but found the relationship between Fikry and Amelia to be a little unbelievable. I was able to set that feeling aside though and still enjoy the story as it unfolded.
The author very cleverly wove intricate relationships strands and life lessons into these innocent pages and effortlessly put you into the lives and loves of several different characters without making the story over complicated.
This is essentially a really quite sad story with lots of unfortunate events and more than enough bad luck heaped upon one seemingly undeserving person, Fikry. In spite of all that it is a truly charming read, full of sweetness and surprises and the overall feeling was one of happiness even though there were several sad events and happenings to wade through. It didn’t make it a depressing book to read – bizarrely quite the opposite.
I would most definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more by Gabrielle Zevin.
Read and Rated 