The Girl on the 88 Bus - Freya Sampson - ★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Freya Sampson

NARRATORS: Annette Holland and Georgia Maguire

GENRE: Contemporary Fiction.

RATING: 3.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A decent read. Contains a couple of interesting protagonists and charming moments. Predictable as expected, but might work for fans of this genre.

Story Synopsis:

Libby Nicholls, newly arrived in London, is boarding the 88 bus broken-hearted and with an uncertain future ahead of her. An elderly gentleman named Frank strikes a conversation with her, revealing that her red hair reminded him of a girl he met in the bus back in 1962. Frank and the girl had made plans to meet but he lost the ticket on which she had written her number, and has been looking for her since the last sixty years.

Libby almost forgets her own personal chaos on hearing Frank’s sad story, and decides to help him search for ‘the girl on the 88 bus.’ Time is of the essence as Frank also has dementia, which is worsening.

The story comes to us in the third person perspective of Libby and the first person perspective of another character, whom we know about later.

Note: This book was originally published in the US under the title "The Lost Ticket".

Bookish Yays:

✔ The prologue set in 1962 gave the perfect start to the story.

✔ Of the main characters, I liked Frank and Dylan – the punker who works as Frank’s carer. (Note: ‘liked’, not ‘loved’.) Of the secondary characters, Esme (Dylan’s friend) and Hector (Libby’s nephew) were charming.

✔ The book has some surprises. Some of these are visible a mile away but many were still fun.

✔ The author sure knows London. It was nice to see the city depicted in such a genuine and detailed way.

✔ Frank’s dementia comes across realistically.

✔ The ending – bittersweet and ‘awwwwww’-inducing. Perfect for the story.

✔ This title is far better than the original title. It suits the book well, and the titular ‘girl on the 88 bus’ can refer to multiple characters and not just the mysterious woman who disappeared from Frank’s life.

Bookish Nays:

❌ Libby just didn’t feel thirty considering her behaviour. Her portrayal made her appear too naïve, especially in her people-handling skills.

❌ Some of the secondary characters were utterly flat. Simon and Libby’s mum are the most boring, being as clichéd as a one-note tune.

❌ While the first half is good, the second half is silly at times. Some scenes at the end are far exaggerated.

🚩🚩SPOILERS BELOW: 🚩🚩

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❌ The pregnancy reveal wasn’t a surprise to me, considering how the plot was developing, but the depiction was almost absurd. A sensible pregnant woman won’t drink champagne. Nor would she run (or be able to run) after a bus until its next stop in the final month of her pregnancy (especially when her tummy is supposed to be larger than average.) Now would she be able to ‘bounce’ and dance heartily at a wedding with such a huge bump. Most of the eye-roll content was in how Libby’s pregnancy was written.

❌ Another silly thing was how Frank searched for his dream girl for decades by missing out the most obvious clue. When he knew about her passion for art, it was farfetched to accept that he never thought of looking for her at the National Gallery, a place mentioned to him by the girl herself as a favourite place she frequented for hours.

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🚩🚩  END OF SPOILERS 🚩🚩 

The Audiobook Experience:

The audiobook, clocking at 9 hrs 18 min, is narrated by Annette Holland and Georgia Maguire, one of whom was narrating the third person perspective, and the other voicing the secret character in first person. I loved the second narrator – the person was perfect for the role and gave the character a tone that enhanced the written text and have us an insight into the character’s personality. Unfortunately, the main narrator, while having a charming voice, didn’t appeal to me. Her voices were too farfetched at times, and the way she voiced Dylan, Simon and Hector simple didn’t match their age and/or personality. Her performance were also slightly off, as ‘yelling’ and such expressive emotions didn’t come out convincingly. To be fair, I adored the way she voiced Libby – that part was perfect.

All in all, if you know what to expect from this genre, and if you are looking for a light read where you can take a break from overanalysing, and if you just want to enjoy a predictably cosy book that doesn’t deviate much from the formula, this would be a decent option to try. (So many Ifs!)

My thanks to Bonnier UK Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Girl on the 88 Bus”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.