Reviews with content warning for Cancer - The Reading List

This story came to me at exactly the moment when I needed it. It's a lovely story that introduces the characters, Mukesh and Aleisha, while they are both dealing with their families and individual conflicts/problems. The reading list that Aleisha finds aids her in recommending books to Mukesh who is working through his sorrow/depression after his wife's death. Throughout their reading picks, they learn about joy, sorrow, and real life...while moving outside of their individual bubbles and worlds.

Content Warnings

annie_e_bea's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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urmelmitflossen's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring lighthearted sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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bookwyrmdancer's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

The Reading List is utterly lovely. A beautiful portrayal of grief and loneliness, family and community, and the incredible power of books and stories to heal, connect and both escape from and rediscover the world. Mukesh and Aleisha are wonderfully human characters - flawed and relatable and utterly loveable. Both their individual storylines and their blossoming friendship are gently compelling.

The Reading List takes on deeply emotional themes with grace and offers comfort - an acknowledgement of the trauma of loss and a quiet reassurance of life beyond it. Reading it as someone who always turns to books - in good times and bad - I loved how novels were woven through the story, in a way that recognises both how some stories find us at the right time, and also how we each take away something unique in what we read.

I picked this book up on a whim and I am so glad I did.

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bringmybooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Please try to remember that books aren't always an escape; sometimes books teach us things. They show us the world, they don't hide it."

✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

I really, really, really, really loved this story. It wasn't perfect (few books are), and if I wanted to I could find faults with it. But I don't want to. Because I loved this.

It's a book about books, and reading, and finding solace in the world of literature when we can't make sense of the world around us. It's a book about how books can't fix things, but they can help us nonetheless. It's a book about how doing everything that you possibly think you can do isn't always enough, but that your story does not end there.

It's a book about culture, and family, and love, and loyalty, and grief. It's a book about community, and home, and food, and friendships. It's a book about all of us, and none of us, and how that's basically the same thing.

It's a beautiful book, and it comes highly recommended by me.

-> Speaking of which - the story revolves around a list of books written by a mysterious character, books that she describes using the quote below.

"They were all her favorite books, the books they she grown up with, the books that had found her at the right time, that had given her comfort when she needed it, had given her an escape, an opportunity to live beyond her life, an opportunity to love more powerfully, a chance to open up and let people in."

And this? This is my Reading List.
... Just in case you ever need it.

My Reading List:
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley
Katherine by Anya Seton
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Say Goodnight, Gracie by Julie Reece Deaver
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
My Real Name is Hanna by Tara Lynn Masih
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron
The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin
Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald

My Series:
Beartown (3 Books) by Fredrik Backman
Dublin Murder Squard (6 Books) by Tana French
Elements of Cadence (2 Books) by Rebecca Ross
The Lost Years of Merlin (5 Books) by TA Barron
The War That Saved My Life (2 Books) by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley

Some notes:
* Yes, I know that TWTSML by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is on there as an individual book and as a series. It's so good I had to put it on there twice. If I could only get you to read one book off this entire list, it would be TWTSML. I would hope that you would want to continue to The War I Finally Won, but reading TWTSML alone is a beautiful experience that I would want to share with everyone.
* I know my list is longer than the one in the book. I don't know what to tell you.

Content Warnings

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

All the feels ❤️ 😭

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