I read this for a bookclub, and it was not for me. The story follows the life of Isaac Dahl. This book isn’t that long, but the titular character’s life is (as promised) very long. The problem is, I never cared about the characters. They felt stiff. This felt like more of a catalog of events over time. Everything felt like an observation rather than emotion and personality driving action. I appreciate the LGBTQ representation in the first person protagonist but never really got into this audiobook I borrowed via Libby.

awesome

3.5 stars. This book kept popping up on my radar as an emotional romance that I ultimately listened to on audio via Libby. The strengths of this book are in FMC Nadia’s clear voice and the lupus representation. I struggled with the believability of Marco’s character. While I was interested in the time-limited romance of dating just for the month of May, the love story felt a bit too intense for the rather playful premise and came off as instalove at times.

Helen Cartwright, 83 y/o, has returned to her family home in a small village in England after 60 years in Australia to die. Not that she has a diagnosis beyond being old. She has been back for 3 years, but returned still actively grieving the abrupt loss of her husband and the tragic loss of her son. She is very lonely and isolated. She does the same thing most days and memories do not give her comfort. Then she unwittingly brings a 5” male mouse into her house. He decides to stay with her and she decides to care for him. (This is not a talking mouse or an anthropomorphic rodent). To care for him she starts meeting a few people she can connect with as she moves from removing the mouse by trapping to naming Sipsworth and hoping wildlife rescue group will take him to making Sipsworth a housemate. Eventually it is revealed that Helen has done significant things. Slow start. A comforting book. Perhaps this book raises awareness of long term grieving, loneliness, sadness and isolation in people in our lives (or in ourselves).

it was amazing

Although this book is considered a “middle reader” book, it is a delightful story of a fourth grade girl and her friends response to book banning in the elementary school library. The audiobook narrator was very good. Is the response engineered by Amy Ann, et al something fourth graders could pull off? Maybe. The banned books include Harriet the Spy, Matilda, Is That You, God? It’s Me, Margaret and other classics. This book has been banned in Florida? Is there any other reason necessary to read this book?

Great book!

This was a silly book. I liked when they fell into the water ??

I think this book should be read because it has an interesting story plot and a good compromise.

This was a silly book. I liked when they fell into the water ??