My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

Title:  My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

Author:  Fredrik Backman

Publisher:  Atria Books

Date Published:  June 15, 2015

Genre:  Fiction, Contemporary

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-  Elsa is a very observant and wise child. Mentally, she is beyond her years. Elsa and her grandma are best friends, and grandma is full of moxie. They live in an apartment complex with a cast of unique and quirky characters. Grandma loves to tell Elsa stories about the Land of Almost Awake. Grandma sends Elsa on a quest, where she must deliver notes to different people in the building, but Elsa has to find the notes in a sort of treasure hunt. 

-  I adored this book! The characters are so well written and thought out. At first they don't seem important, or they are portrayed a certain way, but as the story unfolds, each character becomes endearing and relatable. 

-  It was interesting to read an adult fiction book from a child's perspective. There were some heavy subjects, and I enjoyed seeing them through Elsa's eyes.

-  Backman is a master storyteller. The way his stories unfold and connect is genius. I have loved every book of his that I've read. 

-  The emotions this story elicits were deep and heartfelt. I laughed out loud, I grieved, I was sad, angry, torn, melancholy, etc. In the end, I felt a hopeful joy. This was pretty much a perfect book for me. 

-  I read this for book club last month, and we had a very engaging discussion about various things. It was a lot of fun. 

My Thoughts in a GIF:

A Man Called Ove

Goodreads Synopsis:    A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.

My Thoughts:

-    This book surprised me in the best way. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. 

-    Ove is the most endearing grumpy old man I've ever seen. I couldn't help loving him. I love how fiercely loyal Ove is and how adamantly he will defend what he is loyal to.

-    I laughed out loud so many times throughout the book. There are hilarious moments, situations, and lines. 

-    There is a lot of language throughout the story, just FYI.

-    I feel like Ove was a lot older than 59. He should at least be in his 70s.

-    This was a fun and heart warming story. I highly recommend it.