The Bookshop of Yesterdays
Jun 2018 · Sold by Harlequin
4.4star
8 reviews
Ebook
384
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
About this ebook
Look for Amy Meyerson’s new novel The Imperfects, a captivating literary page-turner.
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
Best Books of Summer 2018 Selection by Philadelphia Inquirer and Library Journal
“Part mystery and part drama, Meyerson uses a complex family dynamic in The Bookshop of Yesterdays to spotlight the importance of truth and our need for forgiveness.” —Associated Press
A woman inherits a beloved bookstore and sets forth on a journey of self-discovery in this poignant debut about family, forgiveness and a love of reading.
Miranda Brooks grew up in the stacks of her eccentric Uncle Billy’s bookstore, solving the inventive scavenger hunts he created just for her. But on Miranda’s twelfth birthday, Billy has a mysterious falling-out with her mother and suddenly disappears from Miranda’s life. She doesn’t hear from him again until sixteen years later when she receives unexpected news: Billy has died and left her Prospero Books, which is teetering on bankruptcy—and one final scavenger hunt.
When Miranda returns home to Los Angeles and to Prospero Books—now as its owner—she finds clues that Billy has hidden for her inside novels on the store’s shelves, in locked drawers of his apartment upstairs, in the name of the store itself. Miranda becomes determined to save Prospero Books and to solve Billy’s last scavenger hunt. She soon finds herself drawn into a journey where she meets people from Billy’s past, people whose stories reveal a history that Miranda’s mother has kept hidden—and the terrible secret that tore her family apart.
Bighearted and trenchantly observant, The Bookshop of Yesterdays is a lyrical story of family, love and the healing power of community. It’s a love letter to reading and bookstores, and a testament to how our histories shape who we become.
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
Best Books of Summer 2018 Selection by Philadelphia Inquirer and Library Journal
“Part mystery and part drama, Meyerson uses a complex family dynamic in The Bookshop of Yesterdays to spotlight the importance of truth and our need for forgiveness.” —Associated Press
A woman inherits a beloved bookstore and sets forth on a journey of self-discovery in this poignant debut about family, forgiveness and a love of reading.
Miranda Brooks grew up in the stacks of her eccentric Uncle Billy’s bookstore, solving the inventive scavenger hunts he created just for her. But on Miranda’s twelfth birthday, Billy has a mysterious falling-out with her mother and suddenly disappears from Miranda’s life. She doesn’t hear from him again until sixteen years later when she receives unexpected news: Billy has died and left her Prospero Books, which is teetering on bankruptcy—and one final scavenger hunt.
When Miranda returns home to Los Angeles and to Prospero Books—now as its owner—she finds clues that Billy has hidden for her inside novels on the store’s shelves, in locked drawers of his apartment upstairs, in the name of the store itself. Miranda becomes determined to save Prospero Books and to solve Billy’s last scavenger hunt. She soon finds herself drawn into a journey where she meets people from Billy’s past, people whose stories reveal a history that Miranda’s mother has kept hidden—and the terrible secret that tore her family apart.
Bighearted and trenchantly observant, The Bookshop of Yesterdays is a lyrical story of family, love and the healing power of community. It’s a love letter to reading and bookstores, and a testament to how our histories shape who we become.
Ratings and reviews
4.4
8 reviews
Gaele Hi
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June 15, 2018
A Favorite Debut Offering! Miranda grew up in Southern California, an only child with that one ‘fun’ family member, her Uncle Billy, and his bookstore, Prospero Books. But when Miranda was twelve, Billy didn’t come to her birthday (not unusual) but did appear one last time at 3 am – fighting with her mother and never to be heard from again. Now sixteen years later and living in Philadelphia teaching middle school history, Miranda gets the call from her mother, Billy is dead. Soon this is followed by a book and a clue –the scavenger hunt that would be Billy and Miranda’s last, and she’s off to discover the answer. From rediscovering Prospero Books, left to her in his will, the clue leads her to more discoveries, more clues and more questions. Questions that her mother and father won’t answer, questions that keep Miranda in LA far longer than the week she expected, making her question the life she had known: this search for answers in which she feels much like the worst of Billy – self-centered and selfish, unable to see the world from another’s perspective. I adored this story and Miranda’s search: the riddles and clues left in books, highlighted passages that test everyone: Miranda, her new employees, old friends of Billy. I’m horribly useless when it comes to riddles and solving them, but the alternating moments of frustration and joy that Miranda displays with each new clue, realigning her life in lieu of all of the information she’s discovering about people known and unknown. Far from simply a riddle to be puzzled out: this story celebrates readers, authors, bookshops and the people who love books and all they demand and give. Myerson’s debut offering presents her as an author to watch for readers who want smart, compelling and engaging stories: full of references and characters to engage and enjoy. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
3 people found this review helpful
Jonnita Stubbs
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September 18, 2019
It started off good and then got predictable. It was interesting the turn that it took but still. The main character came off shallow and self centered, not really thinking of others in her quest for this really unworthy person. And even when faced with the truth she kept believing for different outcome than what she got.
1 person found this review helpful
Dan Holcomb
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December 20, 2022
Very well balanced....characters, mystery, dialogue. exceptional poetic use of English.
About the author
Amy Meyerson teaches in the writing department at the University of Southern California, where she completed her graduate work in creative writing. She has been published in numerous literary magazines and currently lives in Los Angeles. The Bookshop of Yesterdays is her first novel.
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