The Hopes And Dreams Of Libby Quinn

 The Hopes And Dreams Of Libby Quinn. What an incredible book. I simply adored every single page. The book focuses on Libby Quinn and her desire to open up a bookshop as a tribute to her grandfather. As readers we are taken along with Libby and her journey of opening up this shop and following her dream. However, it is not all smooth sailing. When Libby's friendships and love life gets complicated will she still manage to fulfill her hopes and dreams? 

One of the main things that I adored about this book is how family orientated it was. Libby and her parents have an amazing bond as well as this, she also had the most beautiful relationship with her grandfather before he passed. In this way I related a lot to Libby as a family orientated person myself, I found her family bonds extremely special. The Hopes And Dreams Of Libby Quinn is based in Southern Ireland in a little street called Ivy Lane which is where Libby is opening up her shop. A little small town where everyone treated each other as family. So not only did Libby have her amazing family, she had her little town family too. If you have seen Gilmore Girls, Ivy Lane is very much like Stars Hollow, everybody knows everyone. It was so comforting to read about the kindness of Noah and Jo who owned the pub in Ivy Lane and Harry who owned the shop on Ivy Lane. They all look after each other, help each other in times of need and when Libby came along, they treated her as if she had been part of their family town forever.

Libby is one of the kindest souls I have ever read about. which is why when things went wrong for her, my heart broke. Her boyfriend and best friend became impatient with her as she focused more and more on the opening of the shop rather than them. In my opinion, this was selfish of them. If my friend was following their dream, I would do all I can to help them rather then complain about them not having time for me. Libby kept head strong and managed to keep dedicating her time to her dream which was very admirable. 

There is a focus on grief in the novel. As Libby struggles to come to terms with her grandfathers death two years on, it has not gotten any easier for her. The shop was even more important to her as it was a tribute to him and it seemed that Libby was using this bookshop as a way to keep her grandfathers legacy alive. He adored books. The two of them spent all of Libby's childhood reading books. This quality of her grandfather reminded me of my Great Uncle Harry, he adores literature and he would always phone to tell me about a new book he read or to discuss literature which is so special. As Libby is getting the shop together, she faces many struggles in her grief. She simply wishes that her grandfather could see her following her dream and to be by her side however, deep down she knew that he was watching her from above and her parents constantly reminded her of how proud they were of her and how proud he would be of her too. This was so special to Libby. Grandparents are extremely special, they hold a special place in our hearts. This book made me even more thankful for my incredible, loving and supporting grandparents.

However, it also made me aware of my grief. From losing my Oupa (grandfather) in 2018 to now in 2021 still coming to terms with his passing, I felt that this book opened up a lot thoughts for me and this grief due to Libby facing the same situation. I related a lot to Libby and made a strong connection with her character. 

There is SO much more I could say on this beautiful book but instead I will simply recommend it to you all and leave you with a lovely quote from The Hopes And Dreams Of Libby Quinn 'There is no situation so bad that a book can't help you feel better even just for a little while'.