"Dear Mr. Knightley" book review

   

Sam is a 23 year old orphan who is trying to attend Northwestern University's Journalism program. In order to get funds to attend the program from her benefactor, she has to write letters to him, a man she only knows as Mr. Knightley. Sam is a great lover of books, and quotes Jane Austen's works when trying to express herself to others. She rarely hears from Mr. Knightley and starts writing to him as if she is writing in her own journal. Perhaps even a little too comfortable in her letters to him, with a few of the subjects she brings up, considering she does not even know him. Being an orphan, and being part of the foster system, Sam does not trust people that well, so she does not have any friends. This starts to change though when she meets Alex, who loves books as much as she does. They both have their own secrets and quirks of how they deal with the events in their life. I greatly enjoyed this book, but at times really wanted to know what Mr. Knightley thought of the letters he received from Sam. She was also a little naive at times during the book, but was pretty insightful about her thoughts and as to the real reasons why she read books. Her using books and running as a way to escape reality, but at some point needing to use the courage that she knows she has but is too afraid to use it. As with a lot of books though, the ending came too quick and left me with wanting more. I have read a few of Austen's books but not all of them, so sometimes was a little bit of a lost, since I didn't understand all of the meaning behind some of the quotes. So, far the author isn't writing a sequel to this book, but we can all hope. I rank this book 4.5 out of 5. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review through Booksneeze.