You'll have to cut me some slack because this is not a romance novel in the way that we romance novel enthusiasts would define a romance novel (i.e. no scenes of an sexual manner), but I still thought it had enough love to warrant a review on my blog. In fact, I don't think you will find a book with more love in it than Broken Wheel. There's people loving their town, people loving complete strangers, friends loving friends, parents loving their children, and most importantly, people loving books.
In The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, Sara Lindqvist arrives in Broken Wheel, Iowa to meet her long time pen pal, Amy. She's eager to finally see the beautiful town and hilarious friends that Amy has been describing in her letters, but is dismayed to find that she has arrived on the day of Amy's funeral. The town is elated to have a tourist in their midst and do everything they can to make Sara feel welcome. Sara, however, feels quite overwhelmed in this new arrangement and seeks a way to pay back the townspeople for their kindness. The townspeople think Sara must be crazy to open a bookstore in a dying town like Broken Wheel, but soon they find themselves under the bookstore's spell.
This is the warmest, most enchanting story I have read in quite some time. It is impossible for me not to love a book about loving books. It would be completely out of character for me. From the first moment I started reading Broken Wheel I knew it was going to leave an impression on me. I couldn't put it down. It was too wonderful.
The characters were some of the funniest individuals I've had the delight of reading about. Their passion and disdain for their town is something we've all felt (re: I can make fun of my hometown, but god help the stranger who does it). Not to mention I feel that anyone reading this blog will have felt like Sara at some point: nose in a book, oblivious to the world, head in the clouds. I'm, also, quite sure that most of us have dreamed of opening a bookstore at some point of another. We've all been these characters, we've all felt what they feel, and I think that's what makes this book so wonderfully relatable.
Don't be too disappointed that this isn't a romance novel for there is a little romance in it. I don't want to spoil it by talking it to death, so I won't. Just know that it's heart-warming, frustrating, and downright ridiculous, in the best way. You'll love it.
The secondary character's stories are just as, if not more, important than the budding romance. All the stories come together to build a perfect picture of Broken Wheel in your mind. I would find myself laughing, crying, smiling at times as though the townspeople were my very own friends and family, and as if Broken Wheel was my own town.
This book isn't totally realistic. The author certainly took some liberties, especially with the legal aspects of the book that arise, but while the story was at times improbable, you'll be too busy laughing, to care much about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment