3.5 stars
I'm a sucker for these books that feature an elderly character who decides to reflect back on their life. This one had a unique premise as a woman's address book was used to help tell the story. While this book had a bit of charm it also packed an emotional punch in ways I wasn't expecting.
Ninety-six year old Doris doesn't have much contact with the outside world and therefore looks forward to her weekly Skype sessions with her grandniece, Jenny. Doris's father gave her an address book when she was a child and she decides to take a look at it while she writes down some of the moments that shaped her life.
The story went in some directions I didn't see coming but it makes sense given just about everyone has hard moments in life. It felt like there was better focus in the first half or so of the book than the later chapters when in some ways it felt like the story shifted gears and turned into something else. I'm not saying I didn't like it, but I do wish there would have been more of a smooth transition. Overall though, you do end up falling in love with Doris as she is an easy character to feel emotionally invested in and I would definitely recommend this as a good read.
I received a free arc of this book from BookishFirst and the publisher.
I'm a sucker for these books that feature an elderly character who decides to reflect back on their life. This one had a unique premise as a woman's address book was used to help tell the story. While this book had a bit of charm it also packed an emotional punch in ways I wasn't expecting.
Ninety-six year old Doris doesn't have much contact with the outside world and therefore looks forward to her weekly Skype sessions with her grandniece, Jenny. Doris's father gave her an address book when she was a child and she decides to take a look at it while she writes down some of the moments that shaped her life.
The story went in some directions I didn't see coming but it makes sense given just about everyone has hard moments in life. It felt like there was better focus in the first half or so of the book than the later chapters when in some ways it felt like the story shifted gears and turned into something else. I'm not saying I didn't like it, but I do wish there would have been more of a smooth transition. Overall though, you do end up falling in love with Doris as she is an easy character to feel emotionally invested in and I would definitely recommend this as a good read.
I received a free arc of this book from BookishFirst and the publisher.