by Katarina Bivald
Why did you choose this book? This was a book club selection
When did you read this book? January 2017
Who should read this book? Anyone in the mood for a fun, quick read
Source: library ebook
My Rating: ✰✰✰ 3 Stars
Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen...
Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her pen pal, Amy. When she arrives, however, she finds that Amy's funeral has just ended. Luckily, the townspeople are happy to look after their bewildered tourist—even if they don't understand her peculiar need for books. Marooned in a farm town that's almost beyond repair, Sara starts a bookstore in honor of her friend's memory.
All she wants is to share the books she loves with the citizens of Broken Wheel and to convince them that reading is one of the great joys of life. But she makes some unconventional choices that could force a lot of secrets into the open and change things for everyone in town. Reminiscent of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, this is a warm, witty book about friendship, stories, and love.
My Review
This was the book club selection for our January meeting. I was a little disappointed in the book — I think I expected a little more depth and discussion value because this is also a pick by several of the book groups hosted at our local library. The book was a quick read, lighthearted and fun at times, but not a book that will stick with me for any lenght of time.
I never really grew attached to any of the characters and often did not understand their motivations. It seemed a little unrealistic that Sara would just pick up and come to a foreign town for several months without having met anyone in person. It also seemed a little unrealistic that once she got there and learned that Amy, her pen pal, had died, that she would just stay in Amy’s house alone for this time. While I enjoyed the book as a change of pace, I’m pretty sure that six months from now I won’t remember that characters names, let alone the plot line!
My book club rated the book much higher than I did — I gave it 3 Stars and overall our club rated it 4 Stars. I’m not convinced it was because they enjoyed the book more or thought it was a better book than I did. I think in general that my rating scale is a bit ‘harsher’ than many readers use. My ‘3’ means that I think it is a pretty good book and worth reading, but I also expect that the average book is pretty good and worth reading. I guess my expectations are high because I expect the average book I pick up to meet those marks.
This is a fun book for an individual to read, but it doesn’t have much discussion value. I would not recommend this one as a book club pick. Book clubs who choose to read the book can find discussion questions online at LitLovers.
This seems like my kind of book, but the reviews I've seen have been lukewarm at best, so I'll probably trust you all and pass on it!
ReplyDeleteGood review and comments.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Kim, and sending me the link.