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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

4.3 35,415 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
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
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Taylor Jenkins Reid
22,994
Kindle Edition
in Two-Hour Literature & Fiction Short Reads
1 offer from $1.99
Alice Hoffman
10,248
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in 45-Minute Literature & Fiction Short Reads
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Julianne MacLean
29,114
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $2.49
Melissa Payne
11,728
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Margaret Atwood
26,626
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Gillian Harvey
7,990
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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 996 Kindle readers
Oh, you’re moonlight, he’d said. Harder to see, but there for those who look.
Highlighted by 955 Kindle readers
She was good at forgetting; she had practiced for years, and it was now a skill at which she excelled.
Highlighted by 904 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: #277 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3 in Kindle Singles: Amazon Original Stories
- #3 in Kindle Singles: Literature & Fiction
- #3 in Single Authors Short Stories

Customer Reviews:
4.3 35,415 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

35,415 global ratings

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

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sea spicer

Returning to First Loves

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 25, 2023

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A lovely new short story. I think it was about returning to first loves: the boy, the sister, the books she read in the bookstore attached to their family's Red Rose Cottage.
The protagonist's journey begins after years of shutting out memories of Maine. "She could even forget that she had once been considered the girl most likely to become somebody, when she’d turned out to be nobody in particular."
She walks dogs, and rescues one neglected by her divorce lawyer. She responds to an urgent call to return home. She meets her niece.
It ends with her remembering everything, and recognizing love for the first time, in the people and places waiting for her. Plus the bookstore is a nice touch.
I thought it was perfectly complete as a short story.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

D. Peterson

???

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 6, 2023

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This seems like the beginning of a book. This is not a short story. There is too much missing. A story has a beginning a middle and an end. This is just the beginning , no middle, and a bad ending. This story has the bones of a great story. Its as if the author was on a deadline and waited too long to figure out what to say and by the time she figured out what to say she ran out of time . I know some authors do this to make the reader think for themselves about what wasn't written but I like to know not wonder. Just irritates me. Finish a story you start. Whether writing a reading make it worth the time invested. And now I'm frustrated too! If you want a whole story, this is not it.

34 people found this helpful

Helpful

MA Skiles

Rating

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 19, 2023

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed this short story...well written. Plan on reading all this authors books...I find them very relaxing reading before bedtime or a nap

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Cheryl Pompilii

Isabel

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

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This short story is so well written it brought tears to my eyes. This shows how grief can affect each person differently while bringing out the love and memories in your life. Good read.

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

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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

66 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jwls Mac Ray

recommend

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 16, 2023

Verified Purchase

A short story about conflict between two sisters who lost each other in life because of loss. Their mom, then dad, and then one sister lost her hubby. They own a bookstore on an island that was their dad's. Sophie stayed to run it while Isabel ran to the city and forget family. Sophie's daughter wrote to Isabel needing help because her mom broke her leg and no one to run the store. Isabel went and got Violet, who is like her, to learn to read, while fixing up the store and baking their mom's favorite things which became items to sell in the bookstore. Family became close and Isabel found love again with her old boyfriend. She had a dog that she kept from her walking dogs in the city. Excellent story and characters. I check out her other books.

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

Wishing

Easy to read short story

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 19, 2023

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This story had an expected ending but it still put a smile on my face. Shows that no matter what yo never give up on family or love. Prince Willis and Harry should read this.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

Cute sister love

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 2, 2023

Verified Purchase

I wish I had a sister. My whole life I have been jealous of that bond, even when strained. This story didn't make me any less jealous!

2 people found this helpful

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

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.

2 people found this helpful

Jenny Blower

A decent little story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 11, 2023

Verified Purchase

A decent little story, not my usual type of genre but it managed to not be too overly saccharine (or for short enough periods) that I wasn't too taken out of the narrative by annoyance when it was a bit sentimental.

It felt like there were lots of loose ends to deal with by the end of the story, but I suspect that's an issue with a shorter story, maybe a small epilogue would've helped me feel it was a little more complete

Would recommend, audiobook is a little over 1 hour and read by a soft-voice narrator

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