Lost and Found: Oliver Jeffers

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One day, a fairy tale book arrives inscribed by her grandmother, Zelda, also her best friend, who mysteriously died a few years before. Could it really be for her? No one does things for her. She is the one who never says no and does things for everyone else. Martha Storm is a librarian whose sole purpose on earth seems to be to help others. When her parents became ill, she chose to stay with them and care for them instead of moving to New York with her fiancé, the love of her life, even though her sister lived in the same English seaside town as their parents. She allows her workmates to take advantage of her. One makes her do their laundry, one makes her take care of their fish. Her boss discourages her from applying for promotions. Her sister even makes her mend her children's clothes.

There is this lovely dual narrative between the past and what happened to fracture this family and the present where Martha is learning the truth. And the secrets!! The regrets!! It has all the drama you want with a family's dirty laundry. It is easy to dislike Martha in the beginning because she lets others walk all over her but her transformation is fascinating to witness. You will want to root for Martha and cheer her on during her journey of self-discovery. Her transformation, albeit slow but steady, will leave you smiling and wanting more.The book connects to her past and her Nana which makes her sister nervous and yet she perseveres on discovering what happened to her when she was young. She finds unexpected strength and courage and heals old wounds. In the end it is a heart warming story that makes you feel good. It is a light and easy read.

The Library of Lost and Found WILL NOT disappoint a reader who LOVES women's lit, book clubs will have tons to discuss from sister relationships to family secrets to a woman's self-care and even a can lightly touch upon same sex relationships and British culture! It has a ton to plumb while being an easy read!! The story doesn’t have any direct speech. Can you think of speech for the characters at each point in the story?I'm satisfied that at least Martha found a sort of happiness now. The Library of Lost and Found helped her to let go of being the perfect daughter. It's not for me, but if you have a lot of regrets in your life Martha's journey will be one you can relate to and learn from. For me it was really depressing. I won't reveal why, but I really dislike it when characters rationalize their poor mistakes. Your parents deceived you!! They USED you!! And the two loved ones who should have rectified that were TOO SELFISH to do so. Their lives mattered more than you (and all it would have taken them was a visit and the truth)!! I get it... Why waste your elderly years on anger. Move on. See your past as idealistic so that you don't dwell on what you don't have. Sigh. It's not an uplifting book to me. This is the most generic of titles and covers. The library actually had zero to do with Martha's lost and found journey. I expected a lot more interaction within the library and yeah, it wasn't even a big part of the setting. A bookshop got more time. The cover serves its purpose I suppose. It draws the eye of readers who love reading about bookworms, librarians and readers. You know right away what kind of book it will be due to the style... I totally understand why it was chosen. Find out about the South Pole… Try to find it on a globe. Where is in relation to where you live? How far away is it? If you wanted to go there, how would you travel?

The Library of Lost and Found is a heartwarming story about family and letting go of the past to make the most of the time we have. We also find out how she changed her life, trusted people, tried to forget her father’s negativity, and came out of her shell. The Library of Lost and Found is a very sweet read. At first I struggled with Martha as a character because she was such a pushover, she didn’t like to let people down and so she put her own life on hold for others including her parents who she looked after until their death, her boss who kept overlooking her for a full-time job at the library and her younger sister. I felt like screaming at her to tell them to do their own laundry or fix their own child’s school trouser, etc.We follow Martha on her quest to find about the book, her grandmother, and how all of this could be possible. Thanks to Park Row and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Library of Lost and Found is scheduled for release on March 26, 2019. The Library of Lost and Found is a charming and uplifting story about a woman who always took time for everybody's needs, but never for herself. It's about family secrets and regrets. It's about finding your inner strength in yourself and allowing others into your life. Does this book actually have copies of Martha’s stories that she would write because of her Grandmother's prompting?

I wonder about a near-drowning. High tide in a cave is dangerous but as far as I know, water merely inches up on an open beach enough to wet feet. Even the cave had a ledge where Martha’s shoes stayed dry overnight. I enjoyed the story’s goals and do consider the reason that Zelda was driven away from her family plausible. I Just didn't engage with Martha at all, I found her more annoying than anything, and I found that TOO much of the writing was Martha thinking to herself. The plot moved along too slowly, I just couldn't get through this book fast enough to be done with it. As a woman it is VERY easy to relate to doing to much for others. We all do it in some capacity. Where is the line? When is it TOO much? How much should you sacrifice? Through Martha a great discussion about self-care could be explored and really help readers think about their own lives. A HUGE message that even rang true with me is that the past is past. We have to make our decisions for now. It's too late for anything else. Anger, regret, shame... these don't help us live happily now. This is a great theme in the book that any reader will appreciate. There is also a bit of a mystery in the book. Martha’s sister is aware that Zelda didn’t die when Martha was told she did, and begs Martha to stop investigating. She advises Martha that the knowledge will be destructive, and that Zelda will turn out to be less than the person Martha idolizes in her mind.And strength is what she needs as she discovers family secrets from the past which everyone knew except her. She has come so far, how does she not let the past overwhelm her again? How does she forgive those who have hurt her?