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I’m on a streak with charming reads these days, and I am feeling uplifted!

My Thoughts:

The Lido by Libby Page

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 delightful stars to The Lido! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Kate is a cub reporter working for the local paper in Brixton, London. As a cub, she is responsible for the smallest assignments. She also has severe anxiety that affects her work and daily life.

Kate’s next assignment is writing about the closing of a lido (i.e., outdoor pool and recreation center), where she meets Rosemary, a widow in her eighties. Rosemary has been a fixture at the lido since she was a child, swimming in its pool daily. Not only that, but she met her husband there, and she has healed swimming in that pool since his death. So the pool is a fixture, a grounding, for Rosemary as well. The lido is closing due to development, leaving Rosemary feeling lost.

Kate is instantly charmed by Rosemary and the lido, and she makes this story much bigger than a small, forgettable one. She works with a photographer to piece it together through her interviews with Rosemary, and the community chips in, too, all in hopes of stopping the closure of the pool.

What I loved most about The Lido is the relationship that developed between Kate and Rosemary. Each needs to heal in her own way, and this was possible through their bond. I also adored the Brixton setting with its quaint shops and strong sense of community.

The Lido is an uplifting story of friendship, hope, healing, and a life well-lived at any age.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC. The Lido will be published on July 10, 2018.
View all my reviews

Synopsis:

A tender, joyous debut novel about a cub reporter and her eighty-six-year-old subject—and the unlikely and life-changing friendship that develops between them.

Kate is a twenty-six-year-old riddled with anxiety and panic attacks who works for a local paper in Brixton, London, covering forgettably small stories. When she’s assigned to write about the closing of the local lido (an outdoor pool and recreation center), she meets Rosemary, an eighty-six-year-old widow who has swum at the lido daily since it opened its doors when she was a child. It was here Rosemary fell in love with her husband, George; here that she’s found communion during her marriage and since George’s death. The lido has been a cornerstone in nearly every part of Rosemary’s life.

But when a local developer attempts to buy the lido for a posh new apartment complex, Rosemary’s fond memories and sense of community are under threat.

As Kate dives deeper into the lido’s history—with the help of a charming photographer—she pieces together a portrait of the pool, and a portrait of a singular woman, Rosemary. What begins as a simple local interest story for Kate soon blossoms into a beautiful friendship that provides sustenance to both women as they galvanize the community to fight the lido’s closure. Meanwhile, Rosemary slowly, finally, begins to open up to Kate, transforming them both in ways they never knew possible.

In the tradition of Fredrik Backman, The Lido is a charming, feel-good novel that captures the heart and spirit of a community across generations—an irresistible tale of love, loss, aging, and friendship.

Have you read any uplifting books lately? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR