- The Bordeaux Side
Title: The Personal Librarian
Author: Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Narrator: Robin Miles
Genre: Relationship Fiction
Publication Date: June 29, 2021
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Audiobook ISBN-13: 9780593501528
US SRP: $40.00
Additional Format(s):
Hardcover ($27.00)
Paperback ($17.00) - June 7, 2022
Large Print Paperback ($29.00)
Digital Format(s):
NOOK Book - eBook ($14.99)
Summary:
Vivian “Vivi” Howe is a best-selling author of thirteen novels and she lives on Nantucket. One morning while she is jogging she is the victim of a hit and run accident. Vivi dies shortly after she is hit, but she doesn’t feel like she can leave her three children because they still need her. Her youngest, Leo, just graduated from high school and will be going to college in the fall. Her daughter, Carson, is the middle child and she is her wild child. She is bartender at an upscale popular bar, but she is drinking excessively and using cocaine. Her oldest daughter, Willa, has had three miscarriages and is pregnant again hoping that she’ll be able to carry the baby to full term. Vivi doesn’t want to leave them because she feels they need her so much right now. In the afterlife, she is given the opportunity to watch over them for one last summer and she is given three nudges to use if she feels it absolutely necessary to guide them away from disaster.
Leo’s best friend since childhood, Cruz, was seen driving very fast through the area where Vivi was hit, and he also found her and called the police. As “the Chief” Ed Kapenash investigates her death, many are assuming that Cruz may have been the one to do it because he had been seen speeding through the area. Vivi always considered Cruz as if he were her fourth child. He was always at the house and the kids considered him a brother. The story addresses the secrets that the family members have and some become worsen with the loss of Vivi. Carson’s drinking and cocaine use increases as she is trying to deal with losing her mom, plus she is having an affair with Willa’s brother-in-law. Leo had a terrible fight with Cruz the night before his mom died and they are not speaking to each other, plus Leo’s girlfriend is very high maintenance.
Vivi’s latest novel “Golden Girl” is released shortly after she dies and she desperately wants it to be number one because she has never had a novel reach the top position on the bestsellers list. She is also concerned because this one is partially based on her real life. It centers around her high school boyfriend, Brett Caspian, and their last year in high school. In high school he was in a band and she used to watch them practice and she would study during their rehearsals. They were incredibly close and he had aspirations of being a rock star and she had plans to attend Duke University. Brett and his band were heard by a record executive and they went out to Los Angeles to make a demo record. The executive had heard him singing “Golden Girl” which is a song he wrote for Vivi. She was afraid that she would lose Brett and told him she was pregnant. He was interested in marrying her, but as much as she loved him she really wanted to leave Ohio and go to Duke University. So she told him she miscarried and she went to school and he went back to LA to work on the band's album.
Before Vivi wrote the book she researched to see what Brett was doing after high school. After Googling him she wasn’t able to find him anywhere on social media, so she assumed that the chances of him finding out about her new book were slim. Vivi never mentioned to her best friend, Savannah, from college that she had a boyfriend in high school and her family didn’t know it either.
My Review:
I thought the book was well written and most of the characters were very three-dimensional. The Leo character could have been more developed, but this may have been done to not give away the ending. I could see that he was troubled, but it didn’t become clear until the end why he was so troubled. Spoiler alert, the author didn’t want to give away that Leo was in love with Cruz. Other than this one flaw I thought the book flowed very well and the characters were very engaging. The author had a good way of drawing you into the lives of the various characters and it was easy to feel their emotions as they went through the various stages of grief.
The intended audience is those that like a beach read and for the most part I believe it will really work for that group. Even though the main character dies right away, the story does include flashbacks so it does not feel like the characters are mourning all the time. Plus the interaction between the character, Martha in the afterlife and Vivi makes it very interesting and suspenseful.
The narrator of the audiobook was very talented. She had to cover various characters, male and female, and various ages yet the narration was very enjoyable. I was pulled in and didn’t have a problem engaging with the characters.
Ratings:
Quality: 🍷🍷🍷🍷- Sparkling
The book is well developed and it’s a unique type of beach read. I like how the author incorporated a loved one being able to watch over her loved ones and give them assistance, in this case a nudge when they need it.
Popularity: 🍹🍹🍹- Meet Up
This book will be popular with her fans and will also be appealing to readers looking for something with a different spin on a beach read. It is engaging and may appeal to various readers looking for books with flawed characters.
Significance of the book:
This novel is outstanding because it illustrates that individuals may have their own flaws, yet they are still good people that need time to work through their challenges. It is a good demonstration of a mother’s love for her children and it shows that family can be joined together in times of grief. The addition of the afterlife is a unique touch.
Author's website and review:
Appeal Factors: Flawed, Likeable, Strong Sense of Place, Engaging
Read-alike Titles:
That Summer by Jennifer Weiner - Strong Sense of Place, Engaging
All Adults Here by Emma Straub - Flawed, Engaging
Awards:
Library Journal Best Women’s Fiction - 2011 Silver Girl
LibraryReads Favorites: 2014 - June The Matchmaker
LibraryReads Favorites: 2015 - June The Rumor
Booktalking ideas:
Vivi’s initial interaction with Martha in the afterlife
Willa’s meeting with Brett and him telling her about Vivi when she was younger
Brett singing the “Golden Girl” song to Willa
Book discussion questions:
Why do you think so many people in the community were so quick to believe that Cruz was the driver of the vehicle that hit Vivi?
Why did Vivi keep her relationship with Brett a secret from Savannah? Do you think she wasn’t proud of her actions?
Do you think that the family was grieving too much to realize the problems that Carson was having with substance abuse?
Why I Chose This Book:
I chose this book because I saw it on the New York Times Bestseller’s List on my public library’s website, and from there it provided a link to read the description of the book. It piqued my interest because I thought it would be interesting to see how the main character is narrating the story after she dies. It was interesting because the character hasn’t quite made it to heaven yet and she is able to view her family and friends' lives. Since her kids ranged in age from their late teens to twenties I could kind of relate to them since my mom died when I was in my late twenties. I also liked the idea that the main character was given nudges that she could use if she wanted to deter her kids from doing something that could be detrimental to themselves. I would imagine that it would be comforting for a parent to know that they could still guide their children in some way after your death.
“Clues for the Future”: Mourning, Secrets, Flaws, Family
Comments