This is one of those books that is so completely character driven that you can’t put it down, because you have become totally invested in their lives. 

There are three main stories that overlap and take place at this magical coffee shop hidden at the end of an alley. I say magical, because the coffee and the atmosphere of the shop is like a truth serum where long held secrets are revealed between characters who have connections that time has made misty.

Though the stories deal with the heavy topics of death, grief or regrets the characters are working through these because of a willingness to live, or at least that’s how they affected me. We all have periods or incidents in our lives that have hurt, bewildered or angered us and for whatever reason the resolution or acceptance has been hard won if resolved at all. Yet, we go on. And perhaps like the characters here, the healing is by chance, by luck, by someone or something totally unexpected. That is reality to me and why this book touched me so much.

Similar to what many people experience the characters’ revelations in each story don’t turn out like they hoped, but the results are better than they expected. It’s as if a long held memory or feeling just needs to be verbalized so the person can move on.

I love books like this where the details of ordinary life resonate and I get to intimately know the characters.

Something I Learned

The Japanese word for bookmark is shitori, which literally means, breaking a branch. Why? People walking through mountains would break branches to mark their path. Overtime it came to mean the thing you leave in a book to mark your page!💕