The Last Bookshop In London

 Madeline Martin is the author of the historical fiction novel called The Last Bookshop in London. The story is based on true stories about London bookshops during World War Two. In this story Grace and her friend, Viv, are 18 year olds who move from the countryside. Grace moves because her mother died and her uncle kicked her out of her mother's house. Viv came along because they are best friends and her parents are overbearing. They hope to find jobs right away possibly in a glamorous department store such as Harrods. Grace got an invitation to live in London with her mother's good friend so that is where they go. Mrs. Weatherford gives them a warm welcome and so does her teenaged son, Colin. Colin works at Harrods so he puts in a good word for Viv and she gets a job. Mrs. Weatherford persuades a grumpy bookshop owner to hire Grace and he agrees reluctantly. Although it is obvious he doesn't want her there and he doesn't want her to do anything, Grace busies herself clearing at least ten years of dust from the shelves and scrubbing the floors and windows. Over time the bookshop owner comes to love Grace and Grace learns many life lessons from him. The book spans the years 1939 to 1945. The descriptions of the bombing and utter destruction are vivid. Grace starts reading books to others in the book shop and in the bomb shelters to help people pass the time and focus on literature rather than war. Grace volunteers with another grumpy man as a night time warden. If a bomb falls in their neighborhood they go to rescue anyone or to put out the flames on the incendiary bombs. I sincerely enjoyed this book and was sorry to come to the end.