The Car Share by Zoe Brisby

 A ninety-year-old woman with Alzheimer's and a depressed young man end up sharing a car ride from France to Brussels that changes both their lives forever.

The plot:  Alex and Max (short for Maxine) could not be more different. Alex is an introvert, quiet, and lacking in self-confidence. Max is loud, stubbornly determined, impulsive and a bit wacky. When she first meets Alex, she thinks he must be a drug addict because he's so thin and pale. But he's just depressed. And floundering. And Max decides to 'save' him and get him to have fun and love life again before she goes to Brussels to die. And when Alex learns of Max's plan to be euthanized before her Alzheimer's gets worse, he decides to do everything he can to convince her to change her mind and keep living. Together, this mismatched pair forms an unexpected bond of love and friendship. 

My thoughts:   I was looking for a light-hearted, quirky kind of book when I stumbled upon this one at my library. And it's so humorous and fun! Talk about bookish serendipity. I love how Max draws Alex out of his shell and helps him deal with his depression and his panic attacks. Their arguments and their banter made me smile. And I loved all the crazy mishaps they get into on their road trip to Brussels. And Alex's concern for Max is very touching. Best of all, it has a happy ending. Which is exactly what I needed.  

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Frank & Red by Matt Coyne

 

FRANK:  a cantankerous, irreverent, grumpy and sarcastic curmudgeon. He's also grieving the death of his wife and the love of his life, Marcie. Her death has left him estranged from his son...and unable to leave his home. The farthest he ventures now is his own backyard. And he's not at all interested in meeting or befriending his new neighbors!

RED:  a talkative and inquisitive six-year-old boy who's "all snot and jabber". His dad is living with a new girlfriend, and Red and his mom have just moved in next door to Frank. Now Red is facing a new school with no friends; and he doesn't feel like he can tell his mom about the bully who's picking on him because he doesn't want to make her feel sad. His only hope is Frank.

My thoughts:  This book was a delight! Both Frank and Red are going through some hard things, and there are definitely a few heartbreaking moments along the way, but there were many more moments that made me laugh out loud. Red's kind heart shows in his concern over Frank's sadness; and Frank's responses to Red's persistent offers of friendship were SO funny. I loved these two characters and their poignant interactions. Matt Coyne has written a humorous and heartwarming novel. It's my first 5-star read of 2025.

Happy Reading!

Similar reads:

The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey

Bear Necessity by James Gould-Bourn

The Library by Bella Osborne

 

The Library is the story of an unexpected friendship between two very different people. Tom is a lonely teen who feels invisible. His mum is dead and his dad is an alcoholic. Tom struggles to talk to people, especially girls. Then he gets the idea that maybe reading a few romances will help him with that. So he heads to the small village library. And there he meets Maggie. She's a pensioner in her 70s, and she loves to talk to people. But living alone on her small farm gets lonely. Her Saturday trips to the library for her book club is the highlight of her week. And when she starts to talk about books and life with Tom, she realizes, "She'd found a kindred spirit in the most unlikely place and she was going to hang onto him as if her life depended on it."

This is such a delightful read! I loved Tom and Maggie, and how Maggie becomes the family Tom needed so much. His surreptitious reading of romances made me laugh, while his struggles with his dad felt heartbreakingly real and so poignant. This book definitely has all the feels. Maggie's rallying the community to save their library from being shut down did feel very familiar and predictable, but everything else about this book was so good, I didn't mind the lack of surprises at the end. This is another 4-star read for Susan's Bookish Books Reading Challenge.

Happy Reading!

Similar books (that I also loved):

The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin

The Lonely Hearts Club by Lucy Gilmore

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson