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Thursday, April 24, 2014

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin



Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 6.22.17 PMThe Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is a story for book lovers.  A. J. Fikry is a young widowed man that owns a book store in a small island in Massachusetts.  He is a crabby, bitter man with little joy remaining in his life.  A. J. is slowly drinking his life away.  One day a baby is left in his book store with a note saying that the mother's last wish is for her young Maya to grow up to be a reader and to be raised by people who love books.  Maya quickly gives A. J. a new reason to live and soon he is welcoming other people into his life as well. 

The story has many twists and unexpected turns.  The characters are all very loveable; with the exception of one or two.  What will really endear avid readers to The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is the many quotes and discussions of various books and authors.  Each chapter begins with a book review by A. J.  The reviews are written as a letter to his daughter and often reflect, not so much as what the book was about, but what the books meant to him and what Maya might learn from reading them herself.

Visitors to the Island Book Store come to connect.  They come because they are lonely.  They come to escape and they come to feel.  Author Neil Gaiman writes A town isn't a town without a book store. It may call itself a town, but unless it's got a book store it knows it's not fooling a soul.  This is so true for the residents and visitors of Alice Island.


The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is written by Gabrielle Zevin.  She has published seven novels for adults and young adults.