How to Read a Book
- Author: Cara Bastone
- Published: 2025
- Type: Fiction (RomCom?)
- Pages: 368
- Finished Reading: August 24, 2026
- Personal Rating: ★★★★ 4 Stars
- Goodreads Rating: 4.07 (98,402 ratings)
- Notable: Amazon Editors’ Pick: Best Books of the Year 2025
I don’t report on everything I read – far from it. But when one really hits me, I have to let you know about it.
Helen, “Lenny”, is ruined; her lifelong best friend, Lou, died after a long battle with cancer a few months ago and she barely drags herself through life. She can’t make herself go back to their shared apartment so spends many nights on the Staten Island Ferry going back-and-forth. She takes on short nanny gigs so she can at least eat. When she starts one watching Ainsley for Reese, The glowering Miles hovers over it all disapproving of Reese and Lenny. This is not a meet-cute; it isn’t until page 36 that I finally thought “Hmmm. What is Miles’ deal? Maybe he’s not a complete asshat”. But somehow Miles sees Lenny is shattered and actually tries to help. His first steps are awkward – and not the usual RomCom awkward. At first his help is definitely not wanted, but he persists.
I went to the Emily Henry subreddit looking for recommendations for a new RomCom to help me after reading Jonathan Franzen’s “The Corrections”. Cara Bastone came up a couple of times so I picked this book – thinking it would be similar to Emily Henry’s work. Nope. Not. At. All. No meet-cute; no will they / won’t they. no “does s/he like me”. We see Lenny and Mile’s relationship grow through his helping her through her grief – something he had to learn how to do himself. And when they have the typical RomCom separation about 75% in; it’s not a true separation and it isn’t caused by some misunderstanding; rather, Lenny has a moment where she isn’t sure how to carry on because of a realization about herself.
A good sign of a good book is when the author shows us rather than telling us. Bastone does a wonderful job of showing us their relationship and Lenny’s grief evolving slowly.
I highlight in colors and blue is used for great descriptions and beautiful prose. Alexander Pope said (to paraphrase) wit is something often thought but never so well expressed. I have 21 highlights like that in this novel. (Wow, how pretentious am I that I was proud of myself for knowing who said this; and even more pretentious for dropping the name, Well, I’ll own it I have to give credit to the original). When Miles persists in helping Lenny tells us Miles says “‘I’ll be your list…buddy.’ He seems to be genuinely offering, but also he says the word buddy like someone else might say vomit.” [Page 53] And describing Fall: “The leaves shimmy and talk to one another and don’t give a fuck that winter is the grim reaper right around the corner,” [Page 216]. Toward the end she tells her mother after she asked if Miles treats her well. “‘Mom, he walked into hell and dragged me back out.’” [page 265]
This novel slowly rolls out Lenny’s working through her grief and her evolving friendship with Miles. How can she give up her grief when it is the only thing keeping her connected to Lou. This book hit me hard in the feels and the end has a one-two punch that I just did not see coming; though maybe I should have.
A fantastic book; I don’t call it a RomCom; it’s more of a romance drama and the romance doesn’t start until much later in the book than usual. I’ll be reading more of Cara Bastone’s work.
Read it and weep (in a good way)
