Alice Hoffman

The Bookstore Sisters

High Fidelity

Tuesdays were meant for accidents, disappointments, and bad news. Long ago, the day was considered to belong to Mars, the god of war and blood. Now it just meant trouble—it meant that your past could come back to haunt you.

Never Get Lost Oatmeal Cookies, great for hikes or adventures. Orange You Glad Cake, an orange loaf with buttercream icing, certain to cheer up the day. Sin No More Cinnamon Rolls, delicious and sticky, good for both the well behaved and the unruly. Fall in Love Fruitcake, rich with raisins and apricots and a secret ingredient Isabel had never managed to figure out. At the end of the recipe, her mother had written Add the thing you want most of all.

The author P. L. Travers once said, ‘A writer is, after all, only half his book. The other half is the reader and from the reader the writer learns.’”

A very sweet short story.  Two estranged sisters haven’t spoken in years.  When one receives a letter with just one word, “Help”, the other must drop her life to go back to the hometown she has tried so hard to put behind her and the memories she has tried to forget.

Barbara Williford

Amelia

Rachel

I gave this book 2 out of 5 stars. 

I wanted to like this novella, but it did not meet my expectations. 
I have read a lot of short stories that contained characters that were fully fleshed out and believable, but to me, none of the characters in this story felt likable or real. 

They kept repeating that Isabel was selfish, but when the chips were down, she was there for her people to the best of her ability. 

Violet, the niece, was unlikable from the beginning, but it would make sense she would have some animosity towards her aunt for leaving the island and her mother. 

Sophie, Isabel's sister, is not very interesting and one-dimensional, even though the story wanted the reader to feel sympathy for her. 

I think this could have been a very interesting read about the dynamics of family and living in a small town had the author fleshed out the characters or made this into a regular book.