This was a slog to read. My opinion is left-field compared to the general consensus on The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams but the story elicited no emotional pull from me and for a book about books, there were not enough books! The storyline revolved around a reading list and the exposure of reading for two non-readers, Mukesh and Aleisha who found themselves and each other through this exposure. Sounds heartwarming but I couldn't believe their friendship nor could I easily believe how the reading list was integrated into the story.

Those two components made this novel difficult to engage with and I do not think this novel is worth an hour of your time as I have read other novels regarding found friendship/family that have evoked stronger emotional ties. Two of those novels I would recommend are The People We Keep by Allison Larkin and A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. But then again, who am I to say this novel won't elicit those emotions?

The rest of the reading community adored this novel. They found The Reading List engaging, heartwarming, and appreciated the connection between the classics on the reading list and real life. They saw the power and joy reading can bring and it is for that reason this novel lands itself in the worth your time category because although I was disappointed by it, the majority love it and it is highly likely you too will enjoy this read.

The plot is told over a summer but feels like it's told over 2 - 3 years. What occurs in the present plot is an unlikely friendship between a teenager and an elderly man caused by a reading list. That itself could have been the plot as their personal relationship drives the story and yet for me, it fell flat. Without giving it away, I felt the plot's purpose of demonstrating the power of reading was not translated well into their friendship and I feel their relationship could have been more. The power of their external, non-literary, relationships also could have been more. I wanted more emotion and that's that.

Mukesh is a delightful characterisation of an elderly man. He is set in his ways, his daughters are overbearing and attempt to take care of everything for him (something I think is so common for tight-knit families), and he experiences physical ailments. I liked how Mukesh was written because he was real and although his personal connections to the reading list were a touch melodramatic for me, I cannot dismiss them as I know intense emotions can always be elicited from an impactful read. I wish I was Mukesh when I read as his ability to connect with a novel is phenomenal and I'd love for each read I embark upon to have that hold on me. But also, that may be both a blessing and a curse! Mukesh is a good character and a strong protagonist.

Aleisha on the other hand was bland despite a tumultuous life derived from familial and personal struggles. She was stuck working in a library over the summer, required to help her ailing mother, and frustrated with life and I felt none of the emotion that would be associated with those struggles. For Aleisha, it was a lot of telling through the reading list and I would have appreciated a bit of showing to connect us to her emotional turmoil.

The supporting characters are good and with one solid protagonist and a less developed one, the characters in The Reading List are polarising and will either be loved or hated by you.

The ending is predictable, but nice. It is a nice ending that attempts to elicit a sense of finality for the story but again for me, fell slightly flat. It's a good ending but nothing fancy. The novel was nothing fancy and personally, not my cup of tea. I do recognise how this could be received positively and I do think it's worth reading The Reading List if any portion of this review made you intrigued. It is worth an hour of your time, just not mine.

For a novel about the emotional and personal toll novels can take, The Reading List was far from evoking any emotion in me. I was bored throughout the whole novel and the only instance that surprised me was Aidan's suicide. Surprising but still not shocking as it was easy to see he was struggling having given up his future to take care of his mother and not having/refusing any support. He was a good character compared to Aleisha despite being in so little of the novel because he showed versus told. Aidan was shown withdrawing, becoming flaky, having eternal breakdowns indicating something was wrong and as a reader, you could kind of guess why but not confidently why he was breaking. I thought Aidan was addicted to drugs, that was my guess and I didn't mind I was wrong because it meant I could tell something was off and that something big would occur, but not what or when. Unlike Aleisha, he had depth.

When Aleisha had an issue, we never saw any physical or emotional response, not even when her brother died. Instead, the pain was told to us. She told Mukesh reading had caused her to stop watching those around her - why didn't we see that? She was constantly shown reading to her mother and engaging with Aiden through the novels and that to me presented an increased relationship with her family, not her pulling away to read. There is no showing of her retreating to her room and isolating herself from her family in preference of reading, there is no dismissal of others when reading, there is nothing to show this disconnect she is feeling so for her to state that, it was strange. And most importantly, where was the help? After Aidan's death, family came out of the woods to help - where were they before? It was absolutely ridiculous based on how they were portrayed afterwards that there was no help, especially with two children. We never saw frustration from Aleisha having to sacrifice her own life, like Aidan, to help her mother. It could have been a distinct choice her decision to stay home and help but there was no discussion of it. I needed more from her.

Mukesh and his family I adored reading. It was clear they cared about one another and I truly valued how overbearing his children were and how through reading, he was able to step back into the real world and find his place again. Mukesh utilises the novels to connect with others and grow as a person and I agree that reading does help a person grow and connect. My only frustration with him was his relationship to Priya; why was he so obsessed connecting with her and only her when he had two other grandchildren? All I wanted was a simple sentences say the other two were babies or too young to connect in a more adult fashion to demonstrate why his focus was predominately on connecting with Priya. Apart from that, I enjoyed all scenes with Mukesh especially the walk-a-thon where he attempted to bore his walking partner to depth.

I do wish there had been less connection to the reading list and its reliance as a plot device. I haven't read a few of the books on the reading list so for the parts where I've never read the novel, I felt left-out and also a bit cheated because I now knew what happened. The Time Traveller's Wife, The Kite Runner, and Little Women are all spoilt in this novel and I haven't read two of those books and now probably won't because I know what happens! I was ticked off, I don't want a book to spoil another book, even if it's well known as with each generation and person, there are certain famous reads you don't hear of and get to discover for yourself and when you talk about them to another person, they nod and say "yeah, that's a super famous book," and you're surprised and also happy because you found it organically. I've slowly been reading classical and infamous books and now two have been eliminated! Also the last novels on the list weren't even discussed. For how fast they were described at reading, they sure went through the list slowly.

Because of my polarising opinion, I'd love to hear your thoughts on The Reading List but also any recommendations you have for found family as I always crave an emotional and heartwarming read and did not find that in this novel..