Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Sometimes heart wrenching, often funny, occasionally profound with such quotes as "He is too young to like so little" and "In the end, we are collected works."

It mostly worked for me that most of the time it was A.J.'s POV, but sometimes we saw from Ismay or Lambiase or Amelia - but honestly, these moments with other characters just made me want more from them (and perhaps less from A.J. especially when he was at his prickliest). And yet the book also underscored that even the prickliest amongst us needs to find their people, their friends and chosen family.

I briefly started this book a few years ago and bounced off of it, but I'm glad to have read and finished it now.

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sadiebugreads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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startjpw23's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Initially I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy the book because I didn't like the main character A.J. Fikry. He is the proprietor of a bookstore on an island off the coast from New York. He has specific ideas about what books deserve to be read and what books don't deserve to be read. He mostly only stocks the books he thinks deserve to be read. He is kind of insufferable and a book snob. His store isn't doing all that well. He did lose his wife a few years back. Early in the book something happens that causes A.K. Fikry to change some. The change is believable. It wasn't a wholesale change. From that point on, I enjoyed reading about him. I liked most of the supporting characters. The book covers a number of years in A.K. Fikry's life. I'm glad I read the book.

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ed_w's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Lovely, quick read. Really enjoyed the characters, zest, and human-ness.

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lauracollins096's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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haleiyoung's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was an amazing book! The characters made me feel all kinds of emotions and the setting was so charming. AJ starts out as a brash man, but evolves into a softer version of his opinionated, unsentimental self. There are complicated relationships, second chance love stories in the background and a twist you may or may not see coming.
Some characters are irredeemable, which this book definitely has in my opinion, but there are characters who make huge mistakes and you can't help but feel for their situation, which this book also has (and just to make it clear, those who are irredeemable are not those I feel for because

screw cheating bastards).
My one critique would be about the number of parentheses and information dumping the author chose to keep in during the first few chapters. As the book progressed the words came much smoother, but in the beginning I felt like I was being bogged with a bunch of need to know information but presented in an ineloquent fashion.

Now here's a part with a spoiler

But I love the adoption trope in this book. Although I HATE when books or movies portray someone dumping their child onto an unwilling party, the way AJ accepts Maya into his home and loves her like he would his own daughter, and then Amelia doing the same when they get married is beautiful. I was adopted, and seeing it portrayed in such a way that sees AJ being seen as the legitimate dad and Amelia as the legitimate mom and not just the "adoptive parents" makes me heart so happy.

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