I must firstly say how beautiful the book cover is and how the light blue and yellow shades are just the most lovely and pleasing colour combination to look at! The illustration hints strongly at the theme of the book but I will say no more..!
When I first started reading about Abigail - our main character who is a single mum with her own 'Happiness Cafe' - I very quickly became engrossed in her unorganised narrative, and somewhat jumpy way of speaking. In a short amount of time we learn that this is also how she wrote her yearly feedback - in quick random bursts - which she would send in a letter to the elusive authors of 'The Guidebook'. I found that the wide variety in chapter length and the way the book was split into many parts, mirrored the concept of 'The Guidebook' itself, and made the pace of the story telling quite speedy.
We are introduced to our main protagonist as she arrives at a secret retreat she has been invited to, along with many other clueless adults in their 30's. It turns out that they too have been receiving the same letters of randomly ordered pages of 'The Guidebook', same as she has, all through their lives from their teenage years. They too are there to find out all the answers to their many questions, and perhaps the main clue as to why they were picked in the first place.
Only she's there for one specific question, and that is to find out what happened to her brother all those years ago. It so happens that she started receiving the letters the same year Robert vanished. Never to be seen again.
I found this book to be endearingly entertaining and well written; successfully teasing, but in a good time frame. I was very keen to get to all the answers at the end - with the slight fear that many would remain unanswered! - however I can confirm I was left satisfied by the ending, albeit I notice this isn't the only opinion! but as with all things our tastes are all relative and I feel a healthy suspension of belief, and openness to a combination of possibilities is what makes books like these a winner for a wide spectrum of readers! 'The Guidebook' itself suggests at a wellness or self help theme, and although it is certainly a factor, its not quite so obvious in execution...
When I first started reading about Abigail - our main character who is a single mum with her own 'Happiness Cafe' - I very quickly became engrossed in her unorganised narrative, and somewhat jumpy way of speaking. In a short amount of time we learn that this is also how she wrote her yearly feedback - in quick random bursts - which she would send in a letter to the elusive authors of 'The Guidebook'. I found that the wide variety in chapter length and the way the book was split into many parts, mirrored the concept of 'The Guidebook' itself, and made the pace of the story telling quite speedy.
We are introduced to our main protagonist as she arrives at a secret retreat she has been invited to, along with many other clueless adults in their 30's. It turns out that they too have been receiving the same letters of randomly ordered pages of 'The Guidebook', same as she has, all through their lives from their teenage years. They too are there to find out all the answers to their many questions, and perhaps the main clue as to why they were picked in the first place.
Only she's there for one specific question, and that is to find out what happened to her brother all those years ago. It so happens that she started receiving the letters the same year Robert vanished. Never to be seen again.
I found this book to be endearingly entertaining and well written; successfully teasing, but in a good time frame. I was very keen to get to all the answers at the end - with the slight fear that many would remain unanswered! - however I can confirm I was left satisfied by the ending, albeit I notice this isn't the only opinion! but as with all things our tastes are all relative and I feel a healthy suspension of belief, and openness to a combination of possibilities is what makes books like these a winner for a wide spectrum of readers! 'The Guidebook' itself suggests at a wellness or self help theme, and although it is certainly a factor, its not quite so obvious in execution...