Heart warming beginnings

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The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend - Katarina Bivald
Kindle Edition, 384 pages, expected publication: January 19th 2016 by Vintage Digital

Every now and then you come across a gem of a book that is gentle, interesting, engaging and feel good novel that makes you want to crawl between the pages and reside there. ‘Readers of Broken Wheel’ is that book where you find captivated by the personalities that the author has created.
Out of work Sara has travelled from Sweden to visit her elderly pen-pal Amy who lives in the small dying town of Broken Wheel in Iowa. Unfortunately for Sara her arrival is not the triumph she expected as she soon discovers that Amy has recently passed away. The town people embrace Sara and encourage her to stay as that is what Amy would want. What Sara soon realises is that Broken Wheel is a town hanging on to its existence by the slightest of threads, the shops are empty, there are no jobs and people are just getting by. Sara tries to thank the people for their generosity but they won’t have that so Sara decides to establish a bookshop. What follows is a wondrous adventure through books, life and love.
There is plenty of references to books and to be honest there are some books or films I would recommend be acquainted with before you commence for example Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café. (I had an advanced e-version so maybe the final version lists all the books referenced.) It is not necessary to know all the books mentioned but it does give greater depth and understanding to the choices Sara makes.
Bivald has created a vibrant cast of characters who all have their own personal baggage. She creates a wonderful small town where they are desperate to hang on to a community they love. There is tolerance and acceptance which is nice to read.
This is a wonderful feel good novel that transports you to a world where books really can be a saviour.

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