Monica Wood

“We are a continuum of human experience, neither the worst nor the best thing we have ever done. Or, more exactly, we are both the best thing and the worst thing we’ve ever done. We are all of it, all at once, all the time.”

“The writer writes the words. The given reader reads the words. And the book, the unique and unrepeatable book, doesn’t exist until the given reader meets the writer on the page.”

This surprisingly good novel, is told from several characters perspectives- show more first and foremost is Violet Powell who was just released from prison, after serving nearly two years for a fatal drunk-driving incident. Harriet Larson, in her mid-60s, is a retired English teacher who leads the prison book club. This is how Violet and Harriet meet. The third character is Frank Daigle, also retired. He is the husband of the woman who was killed in the drunk-driving incident. How these three characters come together in a bookstore in small town Maine is the center of this engaging story. I like discovering new authors and this one will heartily go on the list. show less

This book is a really lovely piece of writing, if there's any critique to be made, it may be a bit overlong. However, it's well worth your reading time.

The story revolves around the impact an 11yo boy scout has on several adults and how each individual's love for that child connects them to each other. When the story begins, the boy has recently died (that's not a spoiler) and the book deals with the grieving of the adults who love him, how they come to love (or at least have more empathy show more for) each other because of loving him and how the boy's love inspires each of them to heal or grow beyond their brokenness.

It's a different sort of love story that's uplifting without being saccharine and hopeful without being maudlin. Recommended, highly. show less

This beautifully crafted novel centers around the friendship between a 104 year old woman, Ona, and the young boy scout who is assigned to do good deeds for her for several weeks. After the boy's sudden tragic death, his father Quinn assumes responsibilities to help out instead. Because of his emotional and physical absence as a father, Quinn tries to make penance, both with Ona and with his twice-ex-wife. One of the boy's fixations was Guinness World Records, and since he and Ona had show more determined that she would break a record as the oldest licensed driver, Quinn and Bella set out to make that happen. Wood's writing is beautifully simple and lyrical, and the characters she portrays are wonderfully quirky, endearing, and complex. show less

I miss how Harriet was forever showing us how to read. How to look for shapes and layers. How to see that stories have a 'meanwhile' -- an important thing that's happening while the rest of the story moves along. [62]

Like the best pop songs, there's weighty material amidst the stylish and stylised story, a story sufficiently self-aware so tropes invite reflection alongside the entertainment. One reader could criticise that the weighty elements are "simplified", while another reader just as show more easily could overlook them entirely while following the storyline. I was pleased attending to both, Wood's subtheme of reading (and various forms of shared reading) suggesting ample ideas to ruminate while finding out what happens next.

Wood uses an ensemble cast, though a modest one: arguably just three characters, leaning heavily on the quirky sidekick aspect of her story. The prison setting is one example; the African (Congo) grey parrots from the psychology lab, another. Nothing felt groundbreaking or particularly challenging, neither did anything feel like a crutch. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, yet hold no particular motivation for seeking out further titles from Wood.

"Books won't solve my problems, Harriet."
"No, but they give your problems perspective. They allow your problems to breathe." [64] show less