2021 might be the year I read All The Debut Novels. Some are okay, some are meh and some have me looking to see what other books the author might have written. And in the case of Amy Meyerson’s The Bookshop of Yesterdays, I’m planning on grabbing The Imperfects. And I have a huge stack of books from my latest Friends of the Library book sale adventure waiting to be read.
Our heroine Miranda is a well-liked teacher at a Quaker school with a boyfriend. One day she finds out her beloved Uncle Billy, long estranged from her family, has died. And he has left her his beloved bookstore Prospero Books along with clues to what caused his break with her and parents when she was twelve. Because there is a Big Secret. So instead of returning back to her regular life after the funeral, Miranda decides to stay.
Now for that big secret. I’m not going to reveal it here. If you want to know…read the dang book. What I do have to say is somehow I managed to figure out the big plot twist by chapter one. Now I’m not particularly smart, even the tiny companion knew Klara and the Sun took place in the US but not me. Maybe the stars are right because I sure as heck did not inherit my mother’s ability to figure out plot twists. However, this is not a discussion of my dimness.
A few key phrases during a heated encounter had me pausing while cocking my head like our Dalmatian when he realized how to open the pantry for treats. The other clues scattered in the book had me questioning if I was just reading too much into that heated discussion which made reading The Bookshop of Yesterdays much more interesting. This is not a diss on Amy Meyerson’s ability to craft a compelling plot. The first question in the Questions for Discussion section asks if the reader suspected the truth earlier or if they were surprised by the truth.
The Bookshop of Yesterdays still a solid book if you figure out The Big Secret right away or not and I’m very glad I took a gamble when I saw it at the library. Miranda’s journey is painful but there is hope and new chances in her future.