Live from the Cafe

I was initially drawn to this book by its wonderful cover. A tall, handsome, sort of French looking man happily standing next to a very attractive punk inspired woman. These are the proprietors. Together, they are running a quaint and unique cafe at a crossroads in Canada called Harlandsville. There are heartwarming colorful Christmas lights strewn along the ceiling, and they are standing in front of a glass case full of home made pastries. Schoolgirls in short skirted uniforms sit comfortably on a couch in the background. Luc, the handsome co-proprietor, holds out an urn of coffee in welcome to the reader. This is a very inviting cover and it is a very inviting cafe. The best parts of this book are the ones that center upon the life that exists inside this magically charged establishment. For, the people who visit it seem to find comfort, a home, entertainment, friendship, and free refills.

Luc and Emily both left Harlandsville years ago, but were drawn back to the town. Together, they breathed new life into a closed former pub, transforming it into a welcoming and heartwarming cafe. Known for its eclectic open mic musical performers who blazed through town, and its home baked pastries sporting whatever available fruits and nuts were available that week, it becomes a vortex for a variety of lost souls, broken hearted people, and entertainers who drift through town to perform, then sell and autograph some CDs. Once a musical act shows up looking to perform, the occupants of the cafe go through their usual protocol: go outside with their smartphones and spread the word (there is no WiFi inside the cafe where a handwritten sign instructs, "Sorry, no Wi-Fi. Drink coffee, and talk to each other.") Luc and Emily live upstairs in a little apartment atop the cafe. Reading about Emily coming downstairs in the wee hours of the morning to bake her pastries and scones made me feel very cozy inside.

The teenage girls who frequent the cafe (and mostly have part-time jobs in there) go to two different high schools, but co-mingle as friends just the same. One fact I found a bit odd was that many of the girls' names began with "K" and ended with "a" and this caused me some confusion in keeping track of the identity of the characters. It kind of reminded me of the Kardashian clan, whose names all begin with "K". Another backstory regarding the teenage girls was their romantic relationships with each other, as occurred with two different couples in the book. Admittedly, this was another factor that piqued my interest when selecting this book. However, the sexual awakening for these girls with each other was handled with delicacy and class and was not some sort of trashy erotica deal. There are also issues of race simmering throughout the story.

This book had a lot of appeal, especially at the heart of its location: the cafe. However, I was not as moved by a lot of the dialogue among the teenagers. I felt that there could have been more editing to shorten the book in that area.