This was a really cute story about a girl who can't read, but ends up saving her family's bookshop, because she pays great attention to detail. It was a quick read with just a bit of mystery. The illustrations were done very well and added nicely to the story.

The Bookshop Girl is a tale targeted at middle-grade readers, but can (and I daresay, will) be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

The characters are fun and believable and even though they are ordinary people, they find themselves in extraordinary circumstances.

The story itself is deceptively simple, but is filled with symbolism and double meaning.

Property is an eleven year old girl who has been adopted by a single mother and her son and she lives with them in their tiny bookshop when the story begins. The message I believe this portion of the story conveys is that there are many different types of families. Property finds love and acceptance with Michael and his mother Netty. These kind-hearted people took her in when her own family left her at the bookshop and never came back.

When Property's adoptive mother enters and wins a contest where the prize is ownership of the Great Montgomery Book Emporium, Property's world suddenly expands dramatically.

When they first arrive at their new (and gigantic) bookstore, they find a unique setup and they quickly discover how wonderful the store is. To me, this is true of every bookstore and every library. There are magical worlds waiting to be discovered inside the pages of every book. In this story, that magic is more literal but no less true.

Despite the charming characters and the magical and mysterious story line, THE BOOKSHOP GIRL actually tackles some serious issues - one of which is LITERACY. The message contained within this book is that not being able to read is not something to be ashamed of, and that can be remedied if the person confides in a loved one.

The second issue that is discussed in the book is the value of careful observation. Property's ability and penchant for paying close attention to everything going on around her is what leads her to discover that something sinister is happening. Without her paying such close attention to detail, the story would have had a very different ending.

Perhaps the most important message in THE BOOKSHOP GIRL is that family is not defined by blood relation and that there are many types of families. Property is not the biological daughter of Netty, but she is just as much Netty's child as Michael is. This message is one that other adopted children need to hear.

The Illustrations by POLY BERNATENE are pure perfection. They contain the exact right amount of whimsy and quirkiness. In fact, I loved the Illustrations so much that I did a Google search for more books containing his work.

I rate THE BOOKSHOP GIRL as 4.5 out of 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ for middle-grade readers.

* Thank you to #NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this #book.

Would you love to live in a bookstore? What if you didn't know how to read, would you still want to live there? This is the life of Property Jones. She was abandoned in a bookstore when she was very young and raised by the bookstore owner, Netty Jones and her son Michael. Property kept a secret for six years - she never learned how to read- but she pretended she did. The longer she went on pretending that she could read, the harder it was to tell the truth. However, that became the least of Property's problems when her family won the greatest bookstore in all of Britain. The Jones' couldn't believe their luck when they won Albert H. Montgomery's Book Emporium. Little did they know that the reason Mr. Montgomery was so eager to get out is that he bought a very rare and expensive piece of literature but he ruined it by spilling lemonade on it. He owed a very mean man a very large amount of money and he wanted the Joneses to take the fall for it. As Mr. Eliot Pink proceeds to take everything away from the Jones, Property discovers a secret that the evil Mr. Pink wants to stay hidden - the book he sold to Mr. Montgomery is a fake. Now Property has been locked into one of the many rooms in the Emporium and she can't tell her secret to anyone. Will Property be able to escape the room and alert her family of what is going on? Will Property's embarrassing secret that she cannot read ever be revealed? Will Property's family be kicked out of their home or can she expose what Mr. Pink is doing? Read this exciting story of family, friends, and determination, not to mention one of the most amazing bookstores ever!

Property Jones doesn’t know how to read but she’s smart and recognizes when a crook swindles her family out of their bookstore. I thoroughly enjoyed this story about family, books, and out-of-the-box thinking.