The Bookshop of Yesterdays
By Amy Meyerson
Blurb
Miranda Brooks grew up in the stacks of her eccentric Uncle Billy's bookstore, solving the inventive scavenger hunts he created just for her. But on Miranda's twelfth birthday, Billy has a mysterious falling-out with her mother and suddenly disappears from Miranda's life. She doesn't hear from him again until sixteen years later when she receives unexpected news: Billy has died and left her Prospero Books, which is teetering on bankruptcy--and one final scavenger hunt.When Miranda returns home to Los Angeles and to Prospero Books--now as its owner--she finds clues that Billy has hidden for her inside novels on the store's shelves, in locked drawers of his apartment upstairs, in the name of the store itself. Miranda becomes determined to save Prospero Books and to solve Billy's last scavenger hunt. She soon finds herself drawn into a journey where she meets people from Billy's past, people whose stories reveal a history that Miranda's mother has kept hidden--and the terrible secret that tore her family apart.Bighearted and trenchantly observant, The Bookshop of Yesterdays is a lyrical story of family, love and the healing power of community. It's a love letter to reading and bookstores, and a testament to how our histories shape who we become.
Our Review
I found The Bookshop of Yesterdays a comforting read because of all the signposts to familiar books and also because of the simplicity of the book. I suspected fairly early on the way the book was going to take shape but I didn't mind because I liked the characters and the plot.
When Miranda was 12 years old, her mother and her beloved uncle fell out and that led to him walking out of their lives for good. 16 years later Miranda learns Billy has died and left her his bookstore Prospero books. Miranda has special memories from time spent in the store as a child joining in Billy's scavenger hunts.
Miranda uproots her life and flys to Billy's funeral for one last scavenger hunt. Can she discover the truth behind the argument without destroying her life in the process?
A lovely little book.
Our Final Rating...
Read & Shared 60 Times.
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