This book is a touching story about a local Korean bookshop owner and the pursuit of her dreams. It follows her journey as a small business owner and all the highs and lows. It’s a story full of depth and it does well to explore the meaning of life through its stories.

Yeongju is the owner of the bookshop. She decided to open it after failing to maintain fulfillment in her previous job. Through careful planning, events and strategic hires, Yeongju finds moderate success. The story follows her trying to make the business sustainable while carving a unique identity and overcoming past trauma. Yeongju just wants to live a fulfilling life and seeing her try her best is inspiring.

Minjun is the barista for the bookshop. He is quiet, but passionate and always tries his best. The pressure he feels from his mother is stifling. Due to this, he disconnects from her to figure out what he wants to do in life. I relate to his journey the most out of all the characters. Feeling directionless is something that I feel most people struggle with at some point. It’s relevant and the representation here was spot on.

There are other characters that are slowly introduced throughout the narrative. Each has their own stories that are fulfilling to explore. You never know what someone is going through, so it’s important to try to leave a positive impact on their life. On top of that, you need to ensure that any good you do is also good for you. Taking care of yourself is priority number one. Finding fulfillment in today’s society is difficult, but we only get one life so take the leap. These are just some of the life lessons the book teaches and they all feel really well developed given the backstories of the characters. This story provided a window into Korean culture that I’ve seen little of before. This perspective made me wish everyone had the freedom to do what their heart desires regardless of parental or societal expectations. The preconceived notions of success are stifling and the values of a society should not be your sole guiding principles. While I already held this position, this book showed me how difficult it may be to realize this perspective if you’ve never had the chance to broaden your horizons. Because of this and the writing style, I felt at home in the bookshop. If anything, this is a cozy read. Yeongju and Minjun are passionate people and I came to recognize them as friends. I would recommend this story to anyone who is having issues with self-worth, direction or hopelessness, because this story made me feel seen. If anything, I was validated and at the end, left with a warm feeling in my chest.