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mollyv's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Love letter to reading. Emotional and I LOVED Makesh.
I did think the Aleisha storyline was a tad underdeveloped. I also found her physical reactions to her mother confusing as there seemed to be no explanation.
I did think the Aleisha storyline was a tad underdeveloped. I also found her physical reactions to her mother confusing as there seemed to be no explanation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Mental illness, and Death
Minor: Racism
alison18's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Suicide
brittanyducky's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt
pagesfromhome's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
4.0
If you're looking for a quietly inspiring domestic fiction, look no further.
Sara Nisha Adams does a beautiful job of building a community around, of all things, a reading list. While it was pretty clear to me from that start who wrote the reading list, the mystery of that still does a solid job of weaving through each chapter. Mukesh and Aleisha are lovely main characters who build their friendship and trust with each other during some incredibly difficult times and I loved the views into some of the side characters as well. This book covers some difficult topics, but it does so with care and compassion.
I did find some stumbling blocks, as I do with most dual POVs, where I just found myself more attached to Mukesh and found myself waiting for his chapters to pop again. It also at points felt a touch repetitive, but there was good character development once things started moving along. Even in the heartbreaking moments, it was lovely that the characters learned to lean on each other and love each other.
Sara Nisha Adams does a beautiful job of building a community around, of all things, a reading list. While it was pretty clear to me from that start who wrote the reading list, the mystery of that still does a solid job of weaving through each chapter. Mukesh and Aleisha are lovely main characters who build their friendship and trust with each other during some incredibly difficult times and I loved the views into some of the side characters as well. This book covers some difficult topics, but it does so with care and compassion.
I did find some stumbling blocks, as I do with most dual POVs, where I just found myself more attached to Mukesh and found myself waiting for his chapters to pop again. It also at points felt a touch repetitive, but there was good character development once things started moving along. Even in the heartbreaking moments, it was lovely that the characters learned to lean on each other and love each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Death
srivalli's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
2.25
2.2 Stars
One Liner: Got good bones but lacks in execution (think of a vada fried on high heat- the outside looks nice and crispy, but the insides are raw)
Widower Mukesh lives a quiet and simple life in the London Borough of Ealing after his wife’s death. He has a fixed routine, which includes worrying about his granddaughter Priya.
Aleisha is a surly teen who works in a library for summer but with no particular love for the place or books. However, things start to change when she notices a reading list in the return book and decides to check out the books on the list.
As the lonely old Mukesh and the teen Aleisha’s paths cross in the library, they find a chance to heal and hope again.
The story comes in the third-person POV of Mukesh and Aleisha. It also has POVs of Aidan and a few other characters.
My Thoughts:
What’s not to like when reading a book about books and a library? Well, quite a lot, as this book shows. The premise is heartwarming. We have a dysfunctional family. Grief, mourning, some mental illness, troubled relationships, etc. However, the book fails to bring everything together and create compelling characters.
The 70+ Mukesh is probably the only one I could understand to an extent. I could see his struggling dynamics with the three daughters. They have busy lives, and he is an item on their checklist. Let’s say I’ve been seeing Mukesh’s daughters in real life, which made me empathize with his situation. His attempts to connect with his granddaughter Priya are worth mentioning. However, other aspects of Mukesh are disjointed and don’t make complete sense.
I still can’t connect to Aleisha. Not because she is a teen, but because her storyline and family details are so vague and unclear, even after being told the same thing multiple times. What we have is loads of fluff and zero content in this track. What’s with the mom? What happened? Why? I won’t say more coz I am super annoyed with how this is handled.
I did guess the twist or tragic event. There were signs to hint at it. But I don’t like what happened afterward. That’s not a way to fix everything under the sun and should never be a magical solution. Imagine saying you go off, and it’ll help others find solutions to their problems. Ugh!
We get random POVs from other characters, which come together at the end. I could guess this, too, since there’s only one logical thread connecting everything. However, none of them are developed. TBH, removing them would make no difference to the plot. The same goes for Zac.
The save library track is the weakest among the already weak stuff. All it needed was a sudden inspiration fueled by the twist. Distasteful, IMO. How is it that none working in the library, even the boss got that idea if they are desperate to save the place? It’s not like the solution is out of the box or incredible.
While the book-based discussions seem nice, they aren’t inspiring or heartwarming. I’m not sure about that take on Elizabeth and Darcy’s relationship. Lizzie being mean to attract the love interest? Huh… what?
Finally, the pacing… oh, so slow. It took me 3.5 days to read a 380-page book. By the last day, I just wanted this to end so that I could move on to another read.
To summarize, The Reading List could have been a heartwarming book, but ends up as something I had to finish for the sake of it (a BoTM read).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Mental illness
Minor: Suicide
ameliameels's review against another edition
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Grief, and Death
tracy_j's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.75
The character development was wonderful and my freaking heart is joyous but also crying right now. I love books about books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Mental illness
Moderate: Cancer and Death
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
christyn412's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
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? It's complicated
4.5
if you love books about saving libraries, connections between patrons, this is a must read! i like to think of it as a platonic "invisible string" by Taylor Swift.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Death
beankels's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
This book was really cute, made me cry, was both lighthearted and also reflective and sad and all-around a good read. I love a book that makes me remember how much I love books. This book did it with its story and love for libraries and reading and also in making reading an enjoyable experience. The audiobook took a minute to get used to with the characters and sometimes the secondary character-based chapters were hard to follow with timing and narrator. I really enjoyed the book and the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Mental illness
thespinystacks's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Suicide, Cancer, and Death