I Need a Follow up Book!

 The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore 

I adored almost everything about this book. I wish it was longer, or that there was a follow up. It was that good. This is one continuous story but every 6 or so chapters the perspective changes to a different member of the book club. It was a really interesting narrative choice. Starting with Sloan was perfect; she is so relatable (maybe too relatable). her background and how it made her be practically invisible even in her own life hit home. While I haven't lost a sibling, I understand wanting to fade into the background at times. I liked that she reached the conclusion that she didn't actually love her fiance, but didn't tell anyone. Her compassion for Arthur and the subsequent friendship that developed was adorable. That she willingly gave up her dream job to take care of him was so brave, and the right thing to do. Masie was heartbreaking. A single mother without custody of her daughter, desperate to form some kind of bond with her. She needed the book club more than any of them and watching her be able to nurture so many people was sweet. As was the growth she experienced individually and with her child. Mateo, when first introduced, seemed happy go lucky and his turn as narrator really showed how the seemingly happiest individuals can be hiding depths. He really needed the time with Arthur to help him grown and stop being afraid of greatness. That it saved his relationship was nice. Greg. Sweet, shy Greg. I loved him from the beginning. He was desperate to meet his grandfather, but terrified all the same. The growth he experienced in that relationship and the relationships he formed with the rest of the book club were everything. I just wish he and Sloan had ended up together. They were so obviously perfect for each other and that they didn't was one of the things I didn't like about the book. Then we have Arthur. An angry curmudgeon if ever there was one. He never recovered from the death of his wife and it ruined all of his relationships, especially the one with his daughter. During his turn as narrator we find out that he wanted her to stay and raise her baby (Greg; we never find out the father) but she was desperate to get away from Arthur and his temper so she left and never saw him again. During Greg's turn we find out that her dying wish was that he go and try to build some kind of relationship with Arthur. During Arthur's turn we find out how much that meant to him. Arthur reunites with an old friend turned enemy. And when he finds out that Nigel is dying it causes Arthur to be sent back to the hospital. This is unfortunate because he comes clean to Greg and Nigel about how much Sloan means to him and they help him devise a plan to tell her, so that if she moves to Boston with her fiance she will at least know how loved she is. Back to Sloan as narrator. Sloan is listed as Arthur's emergency contact so she runs out to the hospital to see him. Her fiance drives her because she is in no shape to drive and when they get there they have a very serious talk and finally break up. She goes inside and is hurt because she hears laughter and then sees everyone in the room having a book club meeting without her. She finally goes off on them and they spill the beans about the going away present. Each of them has highlighted passages of her favorite book, in different colors (one for each person), that show what she means to them. She cries. They all make up. She tells them she broke it off with her fiance. And that's where the book ends. They are all together and happy. We don't see Nigel die. We don't see Arthur die, which I am grateful for. I could not survive that. But, we also don't see Greg make a move. We don't see Masie make progress with her daughter. We don't see Mateo start his new career as a singer. I desperately want to know what happened to these characters. I. Want. More.