I’m a reader who gets excited when I find a book about books in any shape or form. So I think it’s safe to say that I knew I needed to read The Book Swap. I was so excited when I received an eARC of this book and it was everything I wanted and more. Today I want to tell you about The Book Swap and what I thought.
A big thank you to Netgalley and Graydon House for providing me an eARC to read and review. This doesn’t affect my opinion in any way at all.
“A love letter to books and reading. This debut is catnip for any book geek. I just loved it.” —Cesca Major, author of Maybe Next Time, a Reese’s Book Club Pick
A story of second chances and new beginnings, this is a love letter to books—and a love letter to life
Still reeling from a recent tragedy, Erin Connolly knows she needs to start living, but has no idea how. When she accidentally donates her favorite book—a heavily annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird containing a memento she can’t be without—to a local little community library, she’s devastated. But then the book turns up a week later, back in the library with fresh notes in the margins, along with an invitation in a copy of Great Expectations to meet her newfound pen pal.
A life-changing conversation, written only in the margins of beloved classic books, begins between Erin and her Mystery Man. Following each other through the pages of their favorite novels as the book exchange continues, they both begin to open up, falling into a friendship…and maybe something more.
But Erin and her pen pal have a shared history that neither of them has guessed. Faced with painful reminders of the past—and the one person she swore never to forgive—Erin finds herself at a crossroads. One that could change her life forever.
Review
When I read the synopsis for The Book Swap, I knew I needed this book that’s described as a love letter to books! Books about books are one of my favorite things to read, and Tessa Bickers did not disappoint with her debut book. I really hope this won’t be the only book we get by this author.
Erin is still trying to process a certain tragedy in her life and decides to clean up and donate a collection of books to a free little library. What she doesn’t realize is that she accidentally donated her annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, and when she goes back it’s already gone. One day it does appear again, and the person who took it responded to her annotations. This is the start of a relationship between two strangers that communicate through classics. Erin and this mystery man start to develop a friendship and maybe a bit more and it makes both of them really think about their lives and what they really want.
I don’t want to say too much about Erin’s mystery man, but their shared history definitely makes this story even more interesting. I love how The Book Swap also deals with family, mental health, love, grief, figuring out what you want, and how to move on after certain things happen. I’ll be honest, The Book Swap had me tearing up a few times, and Erin did annoy me at times, but I couldn’t put this book down.
If you love books about books, family, grief, mental health, moving on, and forgiveness, I highly recommend The Book Swap. A lot of classics are referenced here, but even though I haven’t read any of them, I don’t feel like that changed my reading experience. It was still easy to follow!
The Book Swap is Tessa Bickers’ debut book and I really hope we get more by this author. I definitely got hit in all the feels when reading this and I think I’ll love any future books she writes. What was the last book that hit you in all the feels? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.
