The Book Haters’ Club

Bookstore Over the Rainbow has been a staple in the neighborhood for 30 years, but now that co-owner Elliot has passed, it appears as though Irma, his business partner, can’t sell out fast enough. Worse still, she is selling to condo developers. Irma’s daughter, Bree, is devastated, as she had always assumed that she would be the next owner of the Rainbow. Irma refuses to explain her decision and is determined to go through with the clearly unfavorable sale. Bree is just as determined to stop it. But Bree spends most of the book crying and wringing her hands and doesn’t seem to have a solid plan. Luckily, lesser secondary characters have that under control. There is a lot of family drama that only tangentially relates to books. Narrator Tanya Eby does her best using a variety of vocal inflections to represent the characters, and her narrative voice is quite soothing. Even so, she is unable to compensate for the uneven tone, pacing, and plotting of the story.