Title: When You Read This
Author: Mary Adkins
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: February 5th, 2019
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Summary
Iris Massey recently passed away at the young age of 33, due to cancer. After her death, her co-worker Smith Simonyi finds her blog where she wrote about her experiences with cancer and her musing on death. As Smith is struggling with her death, his business is slowly declining, especially when he starts reading Iris’s blog. Smith believes that she would want this blog published, putting him in contact with her sister, Jade. After all, only living relatives can approve the copyright for someone who has died.
Jade’s struggling with Iris’s death in her own way, constantly visiting her mother in Virginia and taking a leave of absence from her job. When Smith contacts her about Iris’s blog, she’s against publishing it. But she finds a friendship in Smith, and their email correspondence gradually turns into something more.
Review: When You Read This
We received an ARC of this at work, and I picked it up because the blurb says “for fans of Maria Semple and Rainbow Rowell.” Well, you had me at Rainbow Rowell (see here and here for more about my love for her)! She’s one of my absolute favorite authors, and the format of this book just intrigued me.
When You Read This is told in a series of emails, blog posts, text messages, and other communication snippets. It’s almost like a tribute to the way that we communicate today, and a way that a relationship might blossom in our mostly virtual world. The format was my favorite aspect of the book. I felt like I got to know the characters in such an intimate way because I was allowed a glimpse into their virtual lives. I thought maybe the format would make the book difficult to get into, but this definitely wasn’t the case.
There were lots of layers to the story that I also enjoyed as well. Though the ending was a tad on the predictable side, I felt that the character development was much stronger than the plot. I would enjoy reading more books presented in this format. If you know of any, definitely send them my way!
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll find everything you could possibly want in this book. If you’re looking for something new to read, definitely check this one out!
3.5/5 stars