We’re delighted to be sharing Elena’s thoughts about The Girl on the 88 Bus by Freya Sampson.
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- Publisher : Zaffre (9 Jun. 2022)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 400 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1838778373
- ISBN-13 : 978-1838778378
When Libby Nicholls arrives in London, broken-hearted and with her life in tatters, the first person she meets on the bus is elderly pensioner Frank. He tells her about the time in 1962 he met a girl on the number 88 bus with beautiful red hair just like her own. They made plans for a date, but Frank lost the ticket with her number written on it. For the past sixty years, he’s ridden the same bus trying to find her.
Libby is inspired by the story and, with the help of an unlikely companion, she makes it her mission to continue Frank’s search. As she begins to open her guarded heart to strangers and new connections, Libby’s tightly controlled world expands. But with Frank’s dementia progressing quickly, their chance of finding the girl on the 88 bus is slipping away . . .
More than anything, Libby wants Frank to see his lost love one more time. But their quest also shows Libby just how important it is to embrace her own chance for happiness – before it’s too late.
Book Review
Libby has broken up with her partner of 8 years, Simon. She is heartbroken and hoping that he will come to his senses. In the meantime she is living at her sister’s house and looking after her 4 year old nephew while the nanny has gone back home.
Frank is in his eighties. He is a retired actor and for around the last 60 years has been wondering where the beautiful girl he met on the 88 bus in 1960 has gone. Having lost her phone number before he could contact her he rides the bus often hoping to see her once again.
With his memory failing him, and after a chance meeting with Libby on the bus, together they cook up a plan to see what became of this mystery girl. Frank has spent his whole life thinking of her..
Libby does everything she can to help him. Can they find the beautiful red-haired girl at long last?
I absolutely adored The Girl on the 88 Bus and cannot praise it enough for its humour, sensitivity and wonderful characters.
Every page is a delight and I genuinely couldn’t wait to pick it up.
Frank is adorable and I really wanted him to find his girl.
Dylan and Libby are believable and likeable and I loved how their relationship blossomed.
An absolute five star book for me, can’t say enough good things about it!
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Freya Sampson worked in TV and was the executive producer of Channel 4’s Four in a Bed and Gogglesprogs. She studied History at Cambridge University and is a graduate of the Faber Academy. She lives in London with her husband, two young children and an antisocial cat. Her debut novel, The Last Library, was published in 2021, The Girl on the 88 Bus is her second novel.