A review by jennifer_
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. It was lighthearted, well-written, and intelligent without making me feel too dumb. I enjoyed that though many of the characters had a tech background, the main character was an art major. It makes it much more accessible for readers (like me!) who needed to have some tech concepts spelled out plainly. The story takes an interesting look at technology, literature, and the dissemination of information as a whole, and I very much appreciated that it steered clear of the doomsday tone that so many novels take about the future of books. At the same time, it was still very realistic, for the most part anyways.

The ending was a bit idealistic for my taste. Seeing Clay and Kat get back together at the end was disappointing, as it felt too easy. I would have loved to see a second book about her grappling with her fear of mortality and her relationship with her work. Still, I enjoyed the happy ending of the book for the most part simply because it fit the novel's lighthearted theme.

I would definitely be willing to read a sequel to this book!