Showing posts with label the power of words. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the power of words. Show all posts

Thursday, August 17, 2023

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

 
This is a thoughtful and poignant novel about how books and reading can provide help, healing and hope, bring people together, and create lasting friendships. And I loved it.

It begins with Mukesh Patel, a lonely and grieving widower, whose wife loved books; Mukesh wants to connect with his granddaughter, Priya, but doesn't know how. An overdue library book of his wife's leads him to the local library where he meets Aleisha, a lonely teen working at the library for the summer who doesn't actually read much, and who has no idea what book to recommend to Mukesh. 

But then she's given a list of eight books with the heading: "Just in case you need it," and she starts to read them...and recommend them to Mukesh. And these books help Mukesh connect with his granddaughter, and with Aleisha, and pushes him to socialize more; they also help Aleisha connect with her mentally ill mother, and with a boy she meets on the train. Many other lives are touched in this book because of this one reading list. 

The Reading List is a captivating novel that touched my heart and kept me reading all day long. I loved the characters. And the ending totally made me cry. It's a good one...and another book that's perfect for Susan's Bookish Books Reading Challenge.

Happy Reading!