Twenty-nine-year-old Nina Hill is nothing if not organized. She spends every Sunday meticulously planning out her week ahead, dutifully recording her menu and exercise plans, her shopping lists, her work schedule, and her many social obligations in her carefully updated planner. Nina, who works in a bookstore, has constructed her life to be full of friends and activities --- from book clubs to trivia leagues --- perhaps partially to offset her near-total lack of family. She was raised largely by a nanny, while her single mother, a Pulitzer Prize–winning news photographer, traveled all over the world. To the best of Nina’s knowledge, her mom wasn’t even sure who her dad was.

But that knowledge is upended when Nina receives an unexpected message. It turns out that her father was aware of her existence. What’s more, he has just died, leaving her not only with (perhaps) something in his will but also with a large, exuberant and very messy extended family. Nina gets anxious when her world isn’t as safe and predictable as what happens inside the pages of her favorite books. How can she possibly deal with a whole new family tree, a whole new set of connections?

"It’s easy to imagine THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL being tucked inside beach bags and overnight bags this summer, as bibliophiles follow Nina’s example and find adventures both within the pages of a book and outside in the big wide world."

To make matters even more complicated, the bookstore where Nina works is in real financial peril. And to top it all off, she finds herself inconveniently attracted to Tom, a member of her archrival pub trivia team. It doesn’t help that Tom is the team’s resident sports expert --- he doesn’t even seem to be a big reader! How could a romance with him possibly make sense? Nina soon finds that her carefully organized life is upended in more ways than one. Can she set aside her planner for a little while and embrace what life throws her way?

It's clear that the biggest fans of THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL will be Nina’s fellow book lovers, who will greatly enjoy seeing the variety of literary references with which Abbi Waxman sprinkles its pages. But her thoroughly enjoyable romantic comedy will also appeal to anyone who appreciates a quirky love story. Sure, the novel might have a fairy-tale ending, but Nina herself (not to mention a fairly well-developed cast of supporting characters) has a bit of an edge. In addition, Waxman addresses serious issues like anxiety disorder and loneliness, which helps ground the novel and give it emotional depth. She sets the book in Los Angeles’s picturesque Larchmont Village neighborhood, a historic (and walkable!) area that might change some readers’ perceptions about L.A.

It’s easy to imagine THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL being tucked inside beach bags and overnight bags this summer, as bibliophiles follow Nina’s example and find adventures both within the pages of a book and outside in the big wide world.