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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-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:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd give it a 6 if I could. Just goosebumps as I finished, so beautiful, a balance of all the emotions, of character detail, or connection to real world events, I felt deeply moved by the end. And the subtle connections between this book and her first book, just brilliant. I'd put this one above the first book, purely as it has the benefit of referring to the first one subtly in such a beautiful way. I can only describe Laura's writing as beautiful and raw. The footnotes or little tidbit details at the end of chapters is perfect, and adds to all your feelings when reading the book. My current best book of 2024 as of May 2024.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Library of Heartbeats by Laura Imai Messina is a tricky book to review without revealing too much about this beautiful story that's about grief and loss and learning to love again when you least expect to.
Returning to his home town following the deaths of his mother and son and divorce from his wife, Shuichi develops a connection with a boy, Kenta, who knew his mother and an unlikely friendship blossoms. They are bound together by their experiences of loss and grief which leads to a visit to the Library of Heartbeats, a place where the heartbeats of visitors from all around the world are collected. Can this visit help them reconcile their pasts and help them move on?
An absolutely beautifully written story! My heart ached for their journey and helped me to see hope in mine.
I borrowed a copy of this book from Taunton Library and listened to it on BorrowBox. I read this for prompt 14, a grieving character, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.
Returning to his home town following the deaths of his mother and son and divorce from his wife, Shuichi develops a connection with a boy, Kenta, who knew his mother and an unlikely friendship blossoms. They are bound together by their experiences of loss and grief which leads to a visit to the Library of Heartbeats, a place where the heartbeats of visitors from all around the world are collected. Can this visit help them reconcile their pasts and help them move on?
An absolutely beautifully written story! My heart ached for their journey and helped me to see hope in mine.
I borrowed a copy of this book from Taunton Library and listened to it on BorrowBox. I read this for prompt 14, a grieving character, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent
Not bad, but not for me. Felt like it was trying too hard to be profound.