The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
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4.2 • 87 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times and USA Today Bestseller
"A heartwarming tale about literature's power to transform." — People
"Charmingly original…sweet, quirky." — Washington Post
Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen…
Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her book-loving pen pal, Amy. When she arrives, however, she finds Amy's funeral guests just leaving. The residents of Broken Wheel are happy to look after their bewildered visitor—there's not much else to do in a dying small town that's almost beyond repair.
You certainly wouldn't open a bookstore. And definitely not with the tourist in charge. You'd need a vacant storefront (Main Street is full of them), books (Amy's house is full of them), and...customers.
The bookstore might be a little quirky. Then again, so is Sara. But Broken Wheel's own story might be more eccentric and surprising than she thought.
A heartwarming reminder of why we are booklovers, this is a sweet, smart story about how books find us, change us, and connect us.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Swedish author Bivald's debut novel is a delight. Erstwhile bookseller Sara Lindqvist has traveled from her home in Sweden to the tiny town of Broken Wheel, Iowa, in order to spend time relaxing and reading with her pen pal, Amy Harris, but what she finds upon arriving is that she's just in time for Amy's funeral. Sara is bewildered but the townsfolk insist that she stay in Amy's house and generally refuse to let her pay for anything. She decides to give back by opening Amy's old store and sharing Amy's books with the community. Bivald fills the pages with book references, chief among them Austen and Bridget Jones, but it is her characters that will win readers over. Sara is unassuming and, as an outsider, provides a wonderful view of the Iowans. Amy's nephew, Tom Harris, Poor George, Caroline Rohde, and the rest all bear their own hurts and each is, in some way, healed by Sara's presence and her books. As in Austen, love conquers but just who and how will come as a pleasant surprise.
Customer Reviews
The readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
The book for me started a little slow, but the tittle was what drew me and kept me going. I was happy to see Sara bloom because at the beginning she seemed color me a dull gray. However after the opening of the bookstore, she became a very vibrant yellow, blue and maybe a mild green. She was a flawed character who resembles me somewhat, but like Amy I have Come to love Broken Wheel Ad the residents.
Dreamy
At first I thought this book might be too slow- but as the characters gathered and the personalities were defined- I fell in love with them all. A book for the “Happy Ending” section!
Dragged
This dragged a lot. Needed editing.
It is too slow. I love to read and a book about readers should be one of my faves, but it’s not.