Published by St. Martin's Press Genres: Contempory, Fiction, Romance, young adult
Format: ARC, eBook
“There’s nothing in the world a good book can’t cure.”
First off, how about that cover!?!
A book about a girl with the love of books. A girl whose life changed when her father. A girl who was saved by books, and a girl who was lost when her best friend, Jenna died. Amelia is obsessed with the Orman Chronicles written by N.E. Endsley. Amelia and Jenna attend a book festival where Endsley will be present, things go wrong when Jenna gets to meet the author and Amelia does not. The two friends fight and never get the opportunity to make things right between them.
“I’ve lived in books. I’ve eaten and breathed books for so long that I took it for granted. I assumed that, if they saved me once, they would always be there to pick me up, even if Jenna wasn’t.”
When Amelia receives a rare edition of the Orman Chronicles she believes her deceased friend is behind it. A gift arranged before Jenna died. The book is sent from an obscure bookstore in Michigan. Amelia decides to go to Michigan and visit the bookstore. She has questions and is looking for answers but what she finds is N. E. Endsley.
I was not exactly sure what I thought of this book when I first started it. I loved the lyrical and beautiful writing. There are many beautiful passages. Once I got a little more into the book it won me over. The beautiful writing helped as it often does. This book is about love in many forms: love of books, love of a friend, love for a child. It is also about grief and how one processes grief. It is about regret, quilt and sorrow. It is about how your plans for the future can change on a dime. It is about being found when you did not know you were lost. It is about taking chances and starting over. It is about hope and a book about growth.
I used to read a lot of YA and for no particular reason stopped for some time. I am glad the beautiful cover and description grabbed my attention. This was a solid debut novel for an author who shows promise. Her writing is beautiful and poignant at the same time.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.