The Lost and Found Bookshop: A Novel

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs takes readers to San Francisco, California where the Harper family has the Lost and Found Bookshop in a historic building called the Sunrose Building. Natalie Harper is stunned when she learns that her mother and boyfriend died in a plane crash. She is now responsible for her mother's beloved bookshop and her aging grandfather. I thought contained good writing and vivid descriptions. I enjoyed the word imagery of the bookshop, he beautiful historic building, and San Francisco. Bookshops are a magical place. I thought the characters were developed with my favorites being Grandy, Natalie's grandfather, and Dorothy Gallagher, Peach's adorable little girl. I enjoyed the relationship Natalie had with Grandy. He has the beginnings of dementia where he confuses Natalie with his deceased daughter, Blythe. Grandy's memories are slipping away which bothers him. He wants to finish out his days in the building where he has lived his whole life. I liked Grandy's compassion and wisdom. There are some great book references throughout the story. Love, devotion, letting go, and living life to the fullest are themes in the book. We get to see Grandy and Natalie move forward slowly after the death of Blythe. As we got to know Blythe from Grandy and Natalie's reminisces, she seemed a woman who was full of life. Blythe was a happy person who thoroughly enjoyed the bookshop. I was not a fan of the foul language in the book and repetition (I got it the first time). I did feel that the ending felt rushed and I did not like that they had two of the characters smoking weed (it came out of nowhere). My favorite phrase from The Lost and Found Bookshop was "You're never alone when you're reading a book." It was fascinating the items found within the walls of the shop and how the Harpers dealt with the objects. Grandy was a good man with strong convictions and values. I appreciated the epilogue which nicely wrapped up the book. The Lost and Found Bookshop is an easy-going story that is just the right type of book to read during the summer months. The Lost and Found Bookshop is a charming story with financial misfortunes, uncovered objects, a hurt heart, a grieving grandfather, dementia dilemma, and beloved books.