Week 48 Review: Everything All At Once

From Goodreads:
A soaring novel by the critically acclaimed author of The Half Life of Molly Pierce and The Lost & Found, perfect for fans of Jennifer Niven and Rainbow Rowell.

Part mysterious adventure, part love letter to the power of books, this is a brilliantly woven novel about loving, reading, writing, grieving, and finding the strength to take a leap.

Lottie Reaves is not a risk taker. But she's about to take a leap into the unknown…

When Lottie's beloved Aunt Helen dies of cancer, it upends her careful, quiet life.

Aunt Helen wasn't a typical aunt. She was the world-famous author of the bestselling Alvin Hatter series. She knew a thing or two about the magic of writing, and how words have the power to make you see things differently.

In her will, Aunt Helen leaves Lottie a series of letters—each containing mysterious instructions. As Lottie sets about following them, she realizes they're meant to make her take a risk, and, for once in her life, really live. But when the letters reveal an extraordinary secret about her aunt's past—and the inspiration for the Alvin Hatter series—Lottie finds herself faced with an impossible choice, one that will force her to confront her greatest fears once and for all. 

My Review:
I really enjoyed this book. It was such a great book about loss, and watching Lottie follow the instructs in the letters her aunt left her, was just a great read. Those letters challenged her outside her comfort zone, helped her deal with her grief, and also, learn a bit more about her aunt, specifically the secret she'd kept since she was a teenager herself. 

I loved reading about Lottie. She's anxious, just like myself, and the death of her aunt at such an young age has really unbalanced her. And these letters are a lifeline, and I loved watching her put herself out there, to fulfill her aunt's wishes. 

Throughout this book, there were little hints as to what her aunt's secret was, that I picked up on right away, but that Lottie remember them after the fact when she was putting the pieces together. I loved the secret (and how it ties into this book, and the books that her aunt wrote her. Side note, loved those excerpts from the books that Helen wrote!) And I really enjoyed how it all worked out, it was really satisfying! 

I loved one little quirk about this book-it started with the spreading of the ashes, and then it told the story from right after her aunt's death. And then we get to the end, and that ash spreading hadn't happened yet. So that was a fun little twist, because the way it was written, at least to me, made me thing that things weren't resolved at the spreading, but that we had to go back and get the full story. When it turns out that it was in fact resolved. So that was just a fun little bit about this book! 

I really enjoyed this book, it was a really sweet and moving read! 

Author: Katrina Leno
Read: November 27th, 2020
Source: Edelweiss
Reason Why: Sounded really good and I've enjoyed her writing, and it's a SAC 2020 Book!
Publisher: Harper Teen
Published: July 24th 2017

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars