THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERBest Books of Summer 2018 Selection by Philadelphia Inquirer and Library Journal“Part mystery and part drama, Meyerson uses a complex family dynamic in The Bookshop of Yesterdays to spotlight the importance of truth and our need for forgiveness.” —Associated PressA woman inherits a beloved bookstore and sets forth on a journey of self-discovery in this poignant debut … and sets forth on a journey of self-discovery in this poignant debut about family, forgiveness and a love of reading.
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.
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Good story. Easy read. Enjoyed the read.
Lots of literary references, which I liked. Some I understood long before the book’s characters did, which was annoying. The resolution of the main question was predictable but it was still interesting to see the characters get there. Light but entertaining reading.
My questions at end of story were, did the grandfather ever know of her existence and did she inherit from him
I picked this up because the reviews were interesting. The secret turned out not to be difficult to figure out. The scavenger hunt was a great plot idea but somehow the book just felt flat. Still a good read
I really enjoyed the characters scavenger hunt journey in this story.
I enjoyed the book but it seemed to go on a little too long and finding and interpreting the clues got a bit tedious.
Slow start but improved; worth checking out
After learning she’s lost her estranged yet beloved Uncle Billie, Miranda heads out to his funeral and learns she’s inherited his bookstore. She loved that bookstore as a child but she isn’t sure what she’s going to do with it as she has a teaching job out East that she loves. Amidst her grief, she sets out on his final quest, similar to the ones she had growing up. Only this time, the secrets of the past that have been long buried will come to light.
I thought the clues for her were fun and well thought out. With the exception of his consuming grief, I liked Uncle Billie through the eyes of everyone that knew him. There were so many buried secrets that it was heartbreaking to watch Miranda’s mother refuse to give in for so long. I felt she was old enough for these things to come to light, and when she started asking questions, that would have been the time for her mother to speak up, but instead, she kept her silence and it drove them apart.
Miranda’s relationship with her boyfriend was weird. They didn’t seem like the right fit from the start and I felt when she went off to the funeral, that both of them were a bit selfish. He for his blatant disregard for her grief no matter how much time it had been since she had seen her uncle. Her because she kept stringing him along with promises to come home that never came to fruition. It was a doomed relationship that should have ended the minute we met them as a couple.
While I figured out what the mystery was fairly early on, it didn’t detract from the book at all. I loved the bookshop and the people that were involved with it, either as employees or devoted customers. There was a great mix of family drama, intrigue, and charm. While I would have liked to see a stronger main character, I think overall it’s definitely a fun read.
Good book for the beach.
How can you go wrong with a book that has this line in it “I think I just need cake”? You know that it is going to be good. Those words are spoken by Miranda at her 12 birthday party after getting hit in the batting cages. I loved this book so much and not just because it revolves around a bookstore and books (although that is a great thing). Finding out it is the first novel of Amy Meyerson was a shock, not just because it is so well written, but that is has the depth of a seasoned writer. Amy gives her characters such life that they jump of the page at you. This book has so many great stories within the story and it comes together so well that you don’t even realize its happening. I can not say enough great things about this book. It is a must read for anyone who loves to spend time in a bookstore, loves books and loves great writing! Thank you Amy, thank you.
Although you can guess something early on, you can’t guess the HOW, and you want to keep reading- very unique!
Lovely, believable characters….each trying to save others from reality and everyone failing and causing more damage in the end. An interesting read.
The end was predictable early in. I felt some ofthe characters could have had more depth .
Enjoyed it.
A mystery-via-scavenger-hunt set in a bookstore? Sign me up! I liked the premise of The Bookshop of Yesterdays, but the execution fell a little flat to me. The pacing was a bit off: it was a slow burn for the first two-thirds of the story, and at one point the scavenger hunt almost died out completely, but all of a sudden everything came rushing out all over the place. The characters were interesting but none of them seemed fully fleshed-out (honestly, I couldn’t tell you what any of them were even really supposed to look like), and like Miranda, I couldn’t seem to figure out what anyone’s motives were for doing anything they did. I still don’t understand a few important things (for instance, why did Susan dislike Evelyn and Billy being together? And why did Billy just disappear and never try to contact Miranda ever again?) and there were a few loose ends. However, I liked Billy’s clever scavenger hunt based on books and literary characters, and I would LOVE to have a Propsero Books in my neighborhood to go hang out in every weekend.
*Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, provided by the author and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Well written.
I enjoyed the journey that Miranda was taken on through clues that her uncle had left her. While somewhat predictable, I enjoyed the twists and turns that she took as well as some of the characters she met along the way. I could easily envision this becoming a movie.
I liked it. It was your everyday typical storyline but it kept me reading it. I get bored easily. I read it till the end so that says something