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The Bookstore Sisters: A Short Story by [Alice Hoffman]

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Alice Hoffman

The Bookstore Sisters: A Short Story Kindle Edition

by Alice Hoffman (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

26,411 ratings

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An Amazon Charts bestseller

From New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman comes a heartfelt short story about family, independence, and finding your place in the world.

Isabel Gibson has all but perfected the art of forgetting. She’s a New Yorker now, with nothing left to tie her to Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Her parents are gone, the family bookstore is all but bankrupt, and her sister, Sophie, will probably never speak to her again.

But when a mysterious letter arrives in her mailbox, Isabel feels herself drawn to the past. After years of fighting for her independence, she dreads the thought of going back to the island. What she finds there may forever alter her path—and change everything she thought she knew about her family, her home, and herself.

Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Amazon Original Stories
Publication date

November 1, 2022
File size

6974 KB
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Enabled
Word Wise

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Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

Tuesdays were meant for accidents, disappointments, and bad news. Long ago, the day was considered to belong to Mars, the god of war and blood.
Highlighted by 663 Kindle readers
Oh, you’re moonlight, he’d said. Harder to see, but there for those who look.
Highlighted by 654 Kindle readers
She was good at forgetting; she had practiced for years, and it was now a skill at which she excelled.
Highlighted by 603 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

When I open a hefty novel, I know I’m essentially moving in. Reading a short story, on the other hand, is a quick getaway, a visit to another world in the space of an afternoon. In Alice Hoffman’s short story, The Bookstore Sisters, readers plunge into a world so vivid that you’ll imagine a salt breeze blowing through your house as you read.

Isabel Gibson has been dreaming of escaping since she was a child: leaping over the barrier of the ocean surrounding Brinkley’s Island. But even after she made it to New York City, she never felt satisfied. When she receives a letter from someone on the island asking for help, she has a chance to find out if crossing back over the water will be a step backward or forward in her life.

Alice Hoffman’s writing transported me as I read Isabel’s story, conjuring the dusty back room of the Once upon a Time Bookshop, the heirloom flowers that climb the walls of Red Rose Cottage, and the lupines that turn the whole island blue in summer. One image, though, sticks with me: Isabel and her sister Sophie as young girls, reading outside by the light of the summer moon until they fall asleep in the grass. I found myself willing Isabel to remember the child she was and the trust she and her sister once shared. In my short visit to Brinkley’s Island, I found a second home.

—Kjersti Egerdahl, Editor

About the Author

Alice Hoffman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty works of fiction, including Practical Magic, The Dovekeepers, Magic Lessons, and most recently, The Book of Magic. Her works have been translated into more than twenty languages, nominated for multiple awards, and adapted for the screen. Her new novel, The Invisible Hour, is forthcoming in August 2023. She lives in Boston. Visit her website at www.alicehoffman.com.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BB52CCND
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon Original Stories (November 1, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 6974 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe

Best Sellers Rank: #32 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1 in Kindle Singles: Amazon Original Stories
- #1 in Short Stories (Books)
- #1 in U.S. Short Stories

Customer Reviews:
26,411 ratings

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Alice Hoffman is the author of thirty works of fiction, including Practical Magic, The Dovekeepers, Magic Lessons, and, most recently, The Book of Magic. She lives in Boston. Her new novel, The Invisible Hour, is forthcoming in August 2023. Visit her website: www.alicehoffman.com

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

26,411 global ratings

5 star		58%
4 star		25%
3 star		12%
2 star		4%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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SandyJ21

A family drift

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 3, 2023

Verified Purchase

EXCERPT: The letter to Isabel Gibson arrived on a Tuesday, which had always been the unluckiest day of the week. Tuesdays were meant for accidents, disappointments, and bad news. Long ago, the day was considered to belong to Mars, the god of war and blood. Now it just meant trouble - it meant your past could come back to haunt you.

ABOUT 'THE BOOKSTORE SISTERS': Isabel Gibson has all but perfected the art of forgetting. She’s a New Yorker now, with nothing left to tie her to Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Her parents are gone, the family bookstore is all but bankrupt, and her sister, Sophie, will probably never speak to her again.

But when a mysterious letter arrives in her mailbox, Isabel feels herself drawn to the past. After years of fighting for her independence, she dreads the thought of going back to the island. What she finds there may forever alter her path—and change everything she thought she knew about her family, her home, and herself.

MY THOUGHTS: Honestly? I loved this short story, but it left me wanting more. There's enough material here for a full novel.

I love stories based on family relationships in all their manifestations - rifts, secrets, deceptions and reconciliations - all these things are grist to my mill.

Hoffman, as always writes with great heart, empathy and humour. She has a great skill at detail and the minutiae of life. I loved the Hoffman has Isabel, who is a professional dog-walker, pack up the dog she was walking and take it with her when she heads back to Maine.

Violet, author of the 'help' letter, is a great character. She is smart and sassy and not afraid to speak her mind. She knows what she needs and will pull out all stops to get it.

I believe that the print copy of The Bookstore Sisters includes the old family recipes that Isabel discovers and makes. Unfortunately these are not included in the Kindle edition. A pity.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.1

16 people found this helpful

Helpful

Abstract Zebra

Poignant and soulful

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 23, 2023

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Isabelle is a lost soul, running from the pain in her life.

The loss of Isabelle’s mother, the painful grief that overwhelmed her and sister Sophie, as well as her father, was simply too much.

Isabelle left Maine, the family bookstore and that life far behind. When she and her husband divorce, she hides in the city, blending in as one more lost soul in a city of thousands, sleepwalking through her job as a dog walker.

Until one day, a letter arrives.

Isabelle suddenly and uncharacteristically writes a note for her lawyer (the unappreciative dog walker client that leaves Hank alone for 10 hours a day) steals Hank and goes back home with him and her life changes, and so does that of all those around her.

Sweetly poignant and movingly soulful, Alice Hoffman is a dynamic and powerful writer. Absolutely a worthwhile read.

Helpful

Sweetpea

TIME HEALS SOME WOUNDS

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 18, 2023

Verified Purchase

People who don't like character driven stories won't like this one. That's just a fact. But as someone who does, I enjoyed this one. These types of stories are about the protagonist's internal journey—not a lot of action, and in this one especially, not a lot of drama.

Two sisters endure the trauma of their mother's death. One grieves but carries on. The other can't grieve; she becomes emotionally stuck, can't get close to others, becomes estranged from her sister and isn't thriving in her adult life. Only when she reconnects to her roots is she ready and able to face her truth.

This is a short story and while it's sometimes necessary to read between the lines, I personally don't need everything spelled out for me in order to get it. When all is said and done and I look back on the story as a whole and how it all came together and led to a thoughtful message, I consider it a success.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Ilovefantasyromancebooks

Cute Short Story

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 7, 2022

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🌸BOOK REVIEW🌸SPOILER FREE🌸

Book: The Bookstore Sisters
Author: Alice Hoffman
Genre: Short Story
My Rating: 3.75 Stars
Spice Level: None
Tropes: Family Healing
Descriptives: Cute 1.5 Hour Audiobook on Kindle Unlimited. It’s about a middle-age woman returning home and reconciling with her sister. She helps with their family bookstore and gets her Happy-Ever-After after a lonely life.

Did it keep my attention? Yes.
Was it easy to read and flowed smoothly? Yes.
Would I buy the print copy? (If it was a Kindle Read) No.
Would I re-read this book again in the future? No.
Would I recommend this book to others? Yes

My Rating Scale:

5 Stars: Excellent Book. Would highly recommend to others. I would buy the physical book. I would also re-read this book in the future. I would post about this book recommending it on social media.
4 Stars: Great Book. Would recommend to others. I would consider buying the print copy and re-read in the future if it belonged to a series.
3 Stars: Good Book. Didn’t quite hit the mark. Not something I would want to read again in the future. Not something I would recommend to others.
2 Stars: Poor Book. Two stars are saved for the books with great unique ideas but it was poorly executed and hard to read.
1 Star: Very Poor Book. Over-used ideas. Poor Writing. Boring. No Plot.

About this Reader:

I have few triggers.
My favorite genre is Fantasy Romance.
I love reading about different worlds.
I prefer books with low spice levels and plot-heavy.
I look for a good slow burn and not instant-love.

-Liz
ilovefantasyromancebooks

35 people found this helpful

Helpful

Mary Dawson

What an awesome read!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 26, 2023

Verified Purchase

Oh my gosh!
What an awesome book that will help you to realize that if you let love in and not run away from your life or what has happened in your life , you will be so much better!
But if you do,just be like these two sisters and let life and love back into your heart and watch yourself become whole again!
Such a great book with such great meaning in every word
I would recommend this book to anyone in a heart beat!

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Portybelle - Joanne

Quirky and fun with a hint of magic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 19, 2022

Verified Purchase

Well I always love a book with a bookshop at its heart and this short story features a wonderful sounding one, The Once Upon a Time bookshop. Isabel's family owns this shop and she spent many happy hours there with her sister Sophie. Now though, thanks to her late father's habit of allowing his customers to pretty much borrow the stock, it's almost bankrupt. Isabel hasn't been back to her home on Brinkley's Island or spoken to her sister for years and had no intention of doing so until a letter from her prickly young niece Violet, summons her reluctantly home.

Although Isabel and Sophie's mother died when they were young, her presence permeates the story, notably in her recipes. I loved the names of some of her bakes: You'll Feel Better in the Morning Cupcakes, Never Get Lost Cookies, Fall in Love Fruitcake. Would baking these work their magic on Isabel and help her to be reconciled with her sister? Well, you'll need to read it to find out. Hank the labrador deserves a special mention too just for being a typical dog - non-judgmental and giving unconditional love.

A perfect choice to read in your coffee break, The Bookstore Sisters is a warm short story about how love in its many forms can be the most important thing in the world. It's about the bonds of family and about finding where you truly belong in the world. Quirky, fun and with a hint of magic, I really enjoyed it.

10 people found this helpful

M. Dowden

A Charming Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 1, 2022

Verified Purchase

This short story by Alice Hoffman does make for a charming read, and reminds us all why we love books, and the importance of bookshops. Isabel left Brinkley’s Island, off the coast of Maine a number of years ago, losing contact with her sister and all her old friends. Divorced and her life not going the way it was supposed to, so she finds herself being recalled to the island by a note.

As Isabel travels from New York City so we read of why she left her childhood home, and the problems with the bookshop that the family owns, as well as why she has not spoken to her sister in years. On her arrival though perhaps something magical is about to happen, after all her niece is somewhat like she was, and her sister and the bookshop are certainly in need of some help.

With the mention of fairy tales coming up more than once so there is a fairy tale element to the whole of this story, which you can easily read over a cup of tea. As we see with Isabel, things can look better, and lives and relations can be rebuilt with a bit of compromise and a change of circumstances.

4 people found this helpful

Flutterbies9

Very pleasant easily read short story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 27, 2022

Verified Purchase

This was a 'feel good' short story which only touched on the complicated relationship of two sisters who never truly understood each other and their interactions. However, deep down, their connection was still there. In dire circumstances, niece Violet intervenes and brings about a reconciliation of sorts and a much better base to restart their relationship, perhaps even finding the missing key to each other's lives.
I feel this could have been expanded into a novella and more time spent on each sister's experiences and travails and their resolution (if any), however it was a lovely short story.

4 people found this helpful

Safi Sana

A sweet story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 1, 2022

Verified Purchase

This was a nicely written, evocative story. I always enjoy a happy ending. The writing sparkled and it was easy to imagine the scenarios as the author described them. I liked the way the author built up the narrative from forgetting to remembering though I’m not sure how believable some of the forgetfulness was.

I didn’t love the way the sisters were depicted - relationships are not black and white, and I think the situations were more nuanced than the author painted them.

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

what a joy!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 1, 2022

Verified Purchase

I had read all her books years ago, and now this one. One of the things I love the most about her stories is that she manages to convey so much in a few words. No filling in with unnecessary thoughts and ramblings. Just like Hemingway, one of my other favourite authors. This filling in seems to be the trend today, which is a shame, as it detracts from the flow of the story. Well done Alice Hoffman.

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