I recently read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry for a book club on Instagram. I didn’t think I would enjoy this book as much as I did, but a few months later, I am still thinking about the book.
This book is about a man named A.J. who is a book store owner on a fairly small island and how he touches the lives of others over time. A baby girl is left in his store one night with a note from the mother basically saying that the baby is smart and that she hopes that if she lives in the bookstore with A.J. that she will be in a better place than being left to the foster care system. He calls the local police because he thinks that he is unable to take care of a child, but in the end, raises her on his own. He gets the police officer into reading and he falls in love with a woman who sells books for a certain publishing company. When A.J. is diagnosed with cancer and only has so long to live, his family and friends try to do everything they can to save him.
The character development of A.J. is nice. Although some of the book seems incredibly rushed, it actually suits the book nicely. It is able to make the book (which to some could be considered long) to not drag at any point. All the characters with the exception of his daughter develop their character as the book goes along and you know what goes on in their lives and fall in love with everyone. This book has stuck with me for the past couple of months and I would recommend it to anyone. It is a good, short read that will have you wishing you could live there with everyone.
Just Another Book Blog With Some Extra Stuff 