The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick: Book Review

Title: The Library of Lost and Found
Author: Phaedra Patrick
Narrator: Imogen Church
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Audience: Adult
Format: Audiobook

My Synopsis:

Martha Storm is one of those people whose life has sort of…passed them by. She spent years taking care of her elderly parents with no real help from her sister. She volunteers to help anyone in her small seaside village with anything, to the point of doing a neighbor’s laundry for her. She’s a volunteer librarian who keeps getting passed over for the actual paying jobs. Yet she’s still incredibly lonely.

But when she arrives at the library one evening to set up for an author event (that had been canceled without her knowledge) she finds a book with her name on it. It doesn’t look familiar to her. When she opens it, she finds an inscription made out to her from her grandmother, dated two years after her grandmother’s death. Surely that’s an error? When she begins reading the book, she recognizes the stories. She wrote them for her grandmother when she was a small child but they were never published. What exactly is going on?

My Review:

I read and loved Ms. Patrick’s first book, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, during my blogging break. I was excited to listen to another one of her books.

I really enjoyed The Library of Lost and Found as well, and for a lot of the same reasons.

Martha Storm is so lonely but she’s so kind and has so much to give. Seeing her family and “friends” take advantage of her generosity was painful. But seeing her finally start to grow into her potential had me cheering! It’s a painful process, as growth always is, but so necessary. I especially loved seeing her find a circle of true friends who supported her. I’m not sure how old Martha is but she’s probably in her 40s or 50s. Change gets harder as we get older but it is possible. I love books that prove this point.

The storyline about the mysterious book and inscription was heart-breaking but touching as well. I won’t say more about that to avoid spoilers.

Imogen Church’s narration was perfect.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who needs an ultimately heart-warming book who doesn’t mind going through some difficult times to get there. You’ll be cheering Martha on too.

Similar Books:

If you liked The Library of Lost and Found, you might also like my reviews of

• Persuasion by Jane Austen
• Moon Women by Pamela Duncan
• When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Purchase:

Buy The Library of Lost and Found from Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville, NC.

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