The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry - Gabrielle Zevin - 4 stars

[Kelly]

A.J. Fikry is a young widower who runs a small bookstore on Alice Island. He is just getting by with his business and is very selective about what books he likes and does not. One day a small child named Maya is left in his store with a note, and the girl's mother has just committed suicide.

A.J. and Maya get along very well and he adopts her. A.J. starts to open his life even more and gets remarried to a book sales representative, Amelia Loman. Minor characters are related through different paths in this book. They add humor and depth. The chief of police is an interesting friend of A.J. and helps him along the way. The backstory of Maya's mother is also done well.

The author did a good job with grief. The reader can sense how much A.J. missed his first wife, and Maya's school story tells how she imagines her own mother's last day. It is a sweet story told with a lot of feeling.

[Robin P]

Most people loved this book but I really disliked it. It seemed emotionally manipulative. I especially detest the trope of a child brought into the story to make the adults happy and give them purpose, and the child has no trauma. (same in A Gentleman in Moscow). Also (view spoiler)[ 2 different characters die in car accidents on this tiny island, is it that dangerous? That is just lazy writing (hide spoiler)]

[Joy D]

I liked this one too, Kelly. I guess I wasn't quite as analytical about it as Robin. I did not view the child as manipulative, just as part of the storyline.