Tis Me Michelle

I saw this book and another by this author sprawled out in a Barnes & Noble, so I picked it up and started reading it as I was waiting for a friend before we went to dinner. I’ve also seen some Booktook recommendations on it. Since I read the book, I’ve also seen some TikToks mentioning how this author used a real-life tragedy as inspiration for this book. Given that this is true, I am disappointed and understand if you choose not to read the book for that reason.

As I read this book without this context, I did enjoy it. I found the book to be very wholesome and sweet. This one I happened to listen to the audiobook and thought the narrator did a fantastic job. The book follows a middle aged gentleman named Linus Baker who is a lone wolf… with a cat. He works as a case worker, specializing in the magical youth. So there is a magical element to this book, which is why I think I stuck around.

Linus is very by-the-books and good at his job – thorough and honest. The ‘extremely higher management’ takes notice and sends him on a rather unique case. They want him to check on an orphanage because of one particular child. Lucy, short for… Lucifer. He is basically sent there to do a thorough review and make sure that nothing was going wrong at this particular orphanage. Linus is nervous about Lucy, but also takes his job very seriously.

I really fell in love with the kids in this. I appreciated how simple and silly they were, brought to life by that narrator. Specifically Chauncey, who was more of a creature in this book, but his goal in life is to be a bell hop. And what a great aspiration. He was just such a delight and truely so wholesome. Aside from listening to Chauncey’s narrations, I loved just how innocent all these kids were. These were kids who were considered ‘different’, and really with and without it being blatantely obvious deemed ‘dangerous’. But at the end of the day they are just kids, only reacting to the world as they know it. And what they know is what they are told and how they are treated.

This book was a very cozy listen for me. From a group of misfits, even an older loner, finding their tribe. And a message of being accepting of all people, even if they are considered to be different. There were no big surprises or twists, but I enjoyed this book.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ✨