I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this one up and probably didn’t start out in the best headspace for this genre, but a few chapters in, something clicked, and I found myself really, really enjoying these characters and the story.
Set in London, this book is about the development of an unlikely (platonic) relationship between Mukesh, a recent widower still at the beginning of mourning his wife, and Aleisha, a teenager working at the library with too much piled on her shoulders. The two of them – non-readers until this book begins – bond over reading books suggested on a list found hidden in the back of a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. As they read through the list of (mostly) classics, they find themselves working through their struggles and rebuilding their lives while relating to the characters they encounter along their reading adventures.
When I picked it up, I really thought this was going to be a lighter piece of fluff. However, it’s a much more serious book that takes on the themes of depression, loss, loneliness, and suicide, while developing characters who makes the reader want to become part of this fictional community. I appreciated how the author used the themes of the books on the list to further develop each main character and let the reader into their lives a bit more. And while knowing something about each of the books on the list comes in handy, it was not critical to enjoying the overall story. If nothing else, it will make you want to pick up all the books that are on the list.
Thank you to William Morrow and Custom House and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.