Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⬜
Title: The Bookshop of Yesterdays
Author: Amy Meyerson
Genre: Fiction
Author Info: She/Her
Setting: Philadelphia, PA / Los Angeles, CA
Month Read: April 2021
Book Type: Audibook
Publication: 2018
Pages: 368
TRIGGER WARNING-
Death / Alcoholism
"I hate movie tie-in covers."
No Spoiler Summary:
The Bookshop of Yesterdays is a fictional novel about a woman named Miranda (after the character in her mother's favorite play- The Tempest.) We begin when Miranda is 12 and absolutely obsessed with her Uncle Billy, the fun-loving uncle who is never short of adventures and scavenger hunts that take her through his bookshop, Prospero Books.
However, on her 12th birthday her Mother and Uncle get into a fight in the middle of the night that she shouldn't have seen, and never sees or hears from her Uncle Again. Soon, he is a distant memory, as his his bookshop and scavenger hunts alike.
Flash foward to 16 years later, when she receives a scavenger hunt clue from her Uncle Billy, only to find out he has died and left her his failing bookstore, Prospero Books. Will Miranda solve the last adventure her Uncle has given her? Will she save the shop she loved so much as a kid? Will she ever figure out why he disappeared from her life?
Review:
I'm not a huge mystery fan, but this book kept me listening- desperate to figure out what happens next. Between the secrets being uncovered just enough to keep you into the story, and the very fun literary clues in Billy's scavenger hunt, there just never seemed to be a satisfying place to stop the novel. It did read a little YA to me, but isn't- so if you're a fan of both, or looking for an easier read this is a great book for you!
Miranda is a pretty unlikable character in a lot of ways, and I'm not sure I care for how she treated her boyfriend, or her mother- but the audiobook narrator (Ann Marie Gideon) blasted life into Miranda and made listening quite the fun experience. I really applauded how she did so many different voices (since there is a diverse cast of characters) and I never had to wonder who was speaking at the time.
Overall, I'm so glad I listened to this book and definitely recommend it if you need something lighter to listen to. While some of the subject matter is a little heavier, the book doesn't dive in so much that you're slogging through trauma. There are also so many twists and turns that I found myself literally gasping at points during my walks or drives as I listened on.
Recommendation:
For fun mysteries that keep you intrigued:
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (YA)
Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch (YA)
For fun (literary) themed scavenger hunts:
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (YA)
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (YA)
Books referenced in the Scavenger Hunt:
The Tempest
Jane Eyre
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Frankenstein
Fear of Flying
Persuasion
The Grapes of Wrath
Bridge to Terabithia
"Most of all, I missed Prospero Books, how it was love, job, place and—my addition to Lee’s list—family."
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