Hope in a Jar - Book review

I finished another book last week when I was sick and came home from work early. Yes, I was sick. Boo hiss. No worries though. I'm feeling better and no one caught the flu from my blog before.

Anyhow - the latest little gem was one that I picked up second hand from my favourite book store - Millpond Records and Books. If you haven't had a chance to check out the store - I highly recommend it. It's located in the village of Hespeler which is part of the bigger city of Cambridge. They are on twitter and facebook. I'm happy to say a) I knew them before they were famous in the local book store circles and b) that I can count them as really good friends even if I don't buy books or records.

I seriously could gush on and on about Greg and Wendy and their awesome shoppe, but I'm here for my latest book review - so let's hop to it.

Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison

This novel is more geared to those that like a bit more of a feminine touch. The book is written in first person and uses the concept of a high school reunion to reunite friends who have spent 20 years apart. What I really liked about the writing style, is that you really felt for the characters. The author did a wonderful job of holding just enough back so that you were guessing the whole time.

No matter who you are, there will have been times when you were in high school that you didn't really feel like you fit in. The two protagonists in this novel are very relatable in this aspect. More and more as I read, it made me really appreciate the friends I've had, and especially those that I call friends now. All in all this book was really about friendships - and how important they are no matter where you are in your life and career. If anything, it helped me look at my own life and let me see that even if it isn't exactly the same as my childhood dream, I can be happy about what and who I have in it now. It also gave me hope for some of the friendships I've had that have slipped away a bit.

No book is perfect, and there are aspects of the book that I found a little too predictable. But the writing is clean, the story is easy to get through and it was fun to read. It also made me really want a makeover, but that's nothing new.

I've already recommended this to a few friends - and even passed it off to a friend who's been having a bit of a rough patch lately. I think the book will help her see that things just might work out for the best. I would really recommend this book for any woman who has friends. Hopefully that means everyone because friends are a fabulous thing to have.

So this is #8 for my #26in2011