Read: Yes
Length: 310
Quick Review: When Millie’s mother abandons her, she accidentally gathers a small and unlikely group of friends and protectors.
lost & found is nothing short of witty and inventive. Brooke Davis is a beautiful story teller; although, her name makes me think of “One Tree Hill.” A quick read full of humor, insight, and struggle. I enjoyed reading it because it is fresh instead of a new take on an old story. I haven’t read much, if any that I can think of, Australian literature, so it was great dipping a toe into the unfamiliar.
Millie is a little girl obsessed with dead things. In her notebook, she keeps a list of all the dead things she has seen including her dog, Rambo, and her dad. Her mother abandons her at a store one day. Karl the Touch Typist is old. He has lost his wife, but he and Millie become friends over snacks. Agatha Pantha is a Millie’s elderly, shut-in of a neighbor since her husband died. Each of the characters are eccentric and lost in their own grief. They’re an odd group, but somehow they complete each other.
Davis has a wickedly funny, observational sense of humor as each of the characters describe their views of the world from often overlooked age groups. It’s hard to think the story of an abandoned little girl is funny, but it is; not the fact she was abandoned, but the way the story is told.
I love that the main characters are from age groups seldomly written as protagonists. As an adult, it’s hard to get into the brain space of a child and an older person – we haven’t been there yet. They are groups of people who are overlooked, underappreciated, and greatly underestimated. It was lovely watching these characters, who usually fly under the radar, be so full of life.
The chapters are fairly short and told from each characters’ perspective. The language is simple and to the point. There are great humorous moments and a style all its own. lost & found is a great read if you want to laugh. It’s also a great book to get through on an afternoon after work.
Memorable Quotes:
“I am never going to have sex again, he says. Not with this face.”
“And then they do IT, because even old people call it IT.”
Title: lost & found
Author: Brooke Davis
Publisher: Dutton (Penguin Group)
Copyright:2015
ISBN: 9780525954682
Kaboom is located in the Woodland Heights area of Houston – very close to downtown. It is so beautiful surrounded by cute houses and a few neighboring stores. When you pull up, the entrance is between two large picture windows. The store takes up three more store fronts because who can have enough books? When you enter through the front door, you’re immediately greeted with that familiar book smell and wood from the countless shelves. The big windows let in tons of natural light and are home to a few bright green plants. Right inside the door is a counter and a chair usually occupied by one of the owners and sometimes the store cat.
The first space you’re in is a nonfiction area. The next area holds a lot of their fiction, children’s books, and more. The third space is smaller and holds more nonfiction. The shelves line the walls and create mazes within the middle of the rooms. There is no wasted space here. They have filled it to capacity with books. Around 100,000 books! Holy wow. With 76 different sections ranging from fiction to art to science to poetry to a whole lot more you can find popular contemporary books to books out of print. There are comfy reading chairs and sofas calling you to have a seat, look at the books in your pile, and enjoy the beauty of this bookstore. If it weren’t so warm and cozy, the amount of books would be immense and intimidating. The bookshelves are tall, so there are ladders scattered throughout to help you reach the books even I can’t reach easily. Behind the store is a lovely seating area. They use this area to host events. I haven’t been able to make it to one… yet! One of these days, I will.
