Author: Fredrik Backman
Published: June 16th 2015 by Atria Books
Format: Hardcover, 372 pages
Genre: Fiction
There is nothing more special than a quirky grandmother and her precocious almost 8-year old granddaughter. They are both “different”, but that is what makes their relationship all the more special.
Every night, her grandmother carries Elsa away to the mythical Land-of-Almost-Awake, which has six kingdoms, each with its own power and Elsa knows by heart, including Miamas where everyone is different and no one needs to be normal. What Elsa did not know, was the true meaning behind each character that her grandmother spoke of. All that reality came crashing down on the day that her grandmother died.
Her grandmother was her only true friend, she was bullied at school, but home was her refuge. Her apartment building was full of misfits and with her parents’ divorce and her mother’s remarriage with a “halfie” sibling on the way, Elsa is trying desperately to not only fit in, but to work through her grief. It is not until she is tasked with delivering letters in a kind of treasure hunt. This is where the title of the book comes from and where the reader sees the whole story unfold and how each and every person in the apartment building is there for very surprising reasons and how their stories are revealed in the Land-of-Almost-Awake.
This is a complex tale that needs to be read in large parts so the reader can keep all the relationships together. Every chapter discovers a part that leaves the reader grasping for more. The revelations are boundless and the love that is revealed within the walls of the building that they call home is deeply heart touching and spellbinding.
This is a book that will remain on my shelf so I can return to the Land-of-Almost-Awake and meet up with them again when I need to add more fairytale and imaginings to my life.
Every night, her grandmother carries Elsa away to the mythical Land-of-Almost-Awake, which has six kingdoms, each with its own power and Elsa knows by heart, including Miamas where everyone is different and no one needs to be normal. What Elsa did not know, was the true meaning behind each character that her grandmother spoke of. All that reality came crashing down on the day that her grandmother died.
Her grandmother was her only true friend, she was bullied at school, but home was her refuge. Her apartment building was full of misfits and with her parents’ divorce and her mother’s remarriage with a “halfie” sibling on the way, Elsa is trying desperately to not only fit in, but to work through her grief. It is not until she is tasked with delivering letters in a kind of treasure hunt. This is where the title of the book comes from and where the reader sees the whole story unfold and how each and every person in the apartment building is there for very surprising reasons and how their stories are revealed in the Land-of-Almost-Awake.
This is a complex tale that needs to be read in large parts so the reader can keep all the relationships together. Every chapter discovers a part that leaves the reader grasping for more. The revelations are boundless and the love that is revealed within the walls of the building that they call home is deeply heart touching and spellbinding.
This is a book that will remain on my shelf so I can return to the Land-of-Almost-Awake and meet up with them again when I need to add more fairytale and imaginings to my life.
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