The Girl on the 88 Bus
By Freya Sampson
Blurb
Can one chance meeting change the course of your life?
When Libby Nicholls arrives in London, broken-hearted and with her life in tatters, the first person she meets on the bus is elderly pensioner Frank. He tells her about the time in 1962 he met a girl on the number 88 bus with beautiful red hair just like her own. They made plans for a date at the National Gallery, but Frank lost the ticket with her number written on it.
For the past sixty years, he's ridden the same bus trying to find her. Libby is inspired by the story and, with the help of an unlikely companion, she makes it her mission to help Frank's search. As she begins to open her guarded heart to strangers and new connections, Libby's tightly controlled world expands.
But with Frank's dementia progressing quickly, their chance of finding the girl on the number 88 bus is slipping away. More than anything, Libby wants Frank to see his lost love one more time. But their quest also shows Libby just how important it is to embrace her own chances for happiness - before it's too late.
A beautifully uplifting novel about how one chance meeting can change the course of your life
Our Review
The Girl on the 88 Bus by Freya Sampson is adorable, crammed full of heart-warming moments.
In April 1962 Frank meets the love of his life on a London bus. They make plans for a date at The National Art Gallery but Frank loses the ticket with her number on it. Ever since then he has travelled on the 88 bus in search of the red-headed stranger.
Libby has moved to London after a relationship break up and meets Frank whislt travelling to her sister's house. When Libby hears of Frank's plight she is touched and wants to help, but with Frank's advancing dementia will she be able to help him before it is too late?
"She was standing at the bus stop, wearing a pair of wide-legged trousers, what loooked like a man's tweed jacket and a black beret, sat on a sideways angle to reveal a shock of red hair underneath. The whole ensemble was unlike anything he'd ever seen a girl wear before, both boyish and feminine at the same time. From his seat at the front of the top deck, Frank caught a flash of green eyes under the beret and felt his heart quicken."
I loved The Girl on the 88 Bus so much! Frank was an adorable character and felt very real. I loved the way he and Libby interacted throughout the book. Libby's own family is toxic, her mother is overbearing and her sister is extremely unlikeable. Libby finds her own family through her search on Frank's behalf.
There are parts of the book that are almost unbearably sad but I am going to be recommending it to every one I know.
"Old people might seem boring, but that's because you're not listening to them properly."
Our Final Rating...
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