All Booked Up
Existing friendships are revitalized, and new ones flourish, in Melody Carlson’s cheerful Christian novel All Booked Up, about women who share a Victorian home.
Riva, an isolated widow in her sixties, is a bibliophile who is reluctant to downsize. When a chance encounter sparks the idea of renting her rooms, Riva prays for guidance. Then Windy, Laurel, Fiona, and Kitty become her tenants. But Marcus, Windy’s amiable handyman brother, is an unwitting source of romantic tension, and Riva’s self-aware vision of a sitcom-worthy communal household proves tough to maintain because of clashing personalities.
Riva’s grieving process melds with everyday tasks as she and the others work to spruce up her Oregon home and form a book group. Themes about people and places needing refreshment are strengthened by cozy shared dinners, yard improvements, and dances to Irish fiddling. Riva, who is torn between savoring hospitality again, second-guessing her choices, and peacemaking between her lovelorn tenants as they angle for Marcus, comes to accept that it’s okay to reawaken to joy after a lengthy bereavement.
The bracing prose is marked by candid chats about people’s many approaches to loss and their desires for connection. The characterizations are somewhat loose: Windy was raised on a hippie commune; Kitty, an alcoholic, vain beauty salon owner who shares her unvarnished opinions, becomes a candidate for divine guidance toward their inward changes. Kitty’s transformation is cut short by a tidy redirection toward a reignited romance, though. More transformative are the book group’s readings, which proffer heartfelt lessons about the members.
A house-sharing experiment is a gift to all in the lighthearted novel All Booked Up, in which domestic dramas among mature women inspire lessons about patience and love.
Reviewed by
Karen Rigby
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
