The Summary

Lenni Pettersson, a 17 year old patient at Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital, resides on the Terminal Ward. Despite being told that she is dying, the adolescent still has a lot of life left to live. When she enrolls in the hospital's arts and crafts program, she meets the amazing Margot, an 83 year old fruitcake eating rebel wearing purple pajamas, who changes Lenni in ways she never could have imagined.

These odd friends, who have been together for 100 years, discover a world of tales as their friendship grows. Even though they both have little time left, they both want to make an impact on the world. Lenni and Margot come up with a plan to paint one hundred canvases that would depict the stories of the century they had lived stories of love and loss, bravery and kindness, unexpected tenderness and pure joy with the assistance of Father Arthur, the patient chaplain at the hospital and Lenni's devoted palliative care nurse.

Even when the end is nigh, these unique women's lives are far from over.

My Review

I thought the story was both beautiful and heartbreaking. but regretfully not what I would choose. Although I was really interested in learning about the relationship that forms between two women from quite different generations, this book fell short of my expectations.

This book's premise is incredibly intriguing. But I failed to grasp it. The tone of the entire narrative also seemed a little wrong. The bond between Lenni and Margot in the present was not discussed nearly as much as I had wanted to learn about or watch grow throughout the book. There are many from Margot's history, but few from Lenni's. I was also unsatisfied by that.

I thought it took Lenni and Margot much too long to get together. Although I don't mind gradual buildup, I thought this book's first half to be dull. The story is supposed to follow the current timeline, however there are scattered flashbacks to Lenni and Margot's earlier lives. The glints were brief, but I couldn't connect with the characters because of it.

It's beautiful in certain aspects, but not in the way I prefer. Although I found the book to be somewhat underwhelming overall and won't remember it, some of the ideas it sent to me and I thought the finale was quite emotional.

My ratings score:

★★★★★ Fantastic! Made me go through a lot of emotions & the entire book is incredibly beautifully done! 

★★★★ Memorable! Despite its shortcomings, this book was incredible and taught us a lot. 

★★★ Good work! Nothing particularly remarkable, but still nice.

★★ Meh... Mediocre with great room for improvement.

★ Extremely Poor.