*The article contains spoilers from the book: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill starts with Nina Hill, the only daughter of a single mother.
Nina was always alone with no siblings, and though she had her mother, Candice, she was a worldwide photographer, so she didn’t see her mother a lot after the first few years since she was small enough to carry from place to place.
Nina had her nanny Louise who she loved almost like a mother, but she still felt alone, but as time went by, she had divulged herself in books so much that she had read more than all the students in her class and teachers.
Nina loved books, and when she graduated, she had started working at a bookstore with her boss Liz and her other colleague Polly.
Nina liked keeping things in order and had her whole day planned, she even had various activities including a trivia team with whom she competes very seriously, a book club, and the rest of her things with work.
On trivia nights, her team is outstanding and so unbeatable that they have been kicked out of many clubs, but there is a team called “You’re a quizzed”. Harry, who is almost just as good and put up an incredible challenge. Not to mention the fact that she likes their captain, whom we find out is named Tom, and he feels the same way with her.
One day when she was working, a lawyer arrives who claims that her father is dead.
At first, Nina thought he had mistaken her for someone else as she doesn’t have a father or ever even heard her mother mention him.
The lawyer says that she indeed has a father who just passed away.
Originally her mother had made him sign a form stating that he would not get involved with her mother or her when she was born.
However, as he had died, there was no choice since he also made a mention of her in his will for which they need her as the will reading will arrive soon.
Nina also learns that she has a huge family since her father had three wives, including her own mother.
Because of that, she now has siblings, as well as nieces, nephews, and grand nieces and nephews. Nina even calls her mother to confirm her father after the lawyer leaves.
Now with suddenly a whole family, Nina has no idea what to do since her entire life, she thought that she was alone and really isn’t one for surprises.
After a few days, Nina meets Peter, her nephew, who is slightly older than her and the only one who is certainly a new member of the family better than the rest.
When Nina meets him, she is surprised as the interaction went incredibly well, and they also had stuff in common.
Nina also realized that she likes him and it’s nice to have a person you can consider a family, but of course, the reason they met in the first place was to later family, and she did.
Not that long after, at work another member of her newfound family barges in, this time a sibling and he was not that pleased as Peter.
You see, her father actually had Nina when he was married to Archie’s mother and when he was about to be born so it was kind of awkward.
But once they talked, Nina found out that they are incredibly similar and she also looks like him the most as he tells her, they even had similar habits, even anxiety and she also learns that he has a wife and a baby boy, Henry, they also have an unborn.
So in meeting her family and liking them was two out of two.
Eventually, Nina and Tom get together with the help and a small push from friends but mostly Tom’s middle school friend and trivia partner Lisa.
And more things happen in between like a wedding and such, but those are the more minor details. Still, another thing that happens before is that one morning she gets an email from Peter.
She meets the previous lawyer who states that one of her nieces had filed a complaint about her and her having a part of the will so she will need to attend a gathering that includes most of the family members except the younger ones.
She attends even though she doesn’t want to and things become shaky with so many people.
Her great-niece Lydia, who is the reason she was here, thought that her having a part of the will is unjust as she hasn’t even ever met him, and she also suggests that all Nina wants is the money she might get, or she isn’t even a part of them in the first place.
Nina makes comebacks, too, saying that she has no part in this and wouldn’t have cared about being in his will.
As the members start arguing with each other, Nina loses her temper and says that she doesn’t want anything in the will to keep it to themselves then she storms out as the others look ashamed, well, except Lydia.
Later on, Nina meets with Archie and Peter at different intervals and talks to them a bit more and she even meets Peter’s mom and her sibling named Becky who is also nice and works as a vet and Peter learns about Tom.
In another meet-up with Archie, he brings Millie with him who is her youngest sibling, only ten years old, Nina finds herself relating to her as Millie has the love for books at a young age but no friends think of her as weird.
Nina suggests Millie join her young girl’s book club at the library to which she is ecstatic.
But more trouble awaits as in a festival, she and Poppy learn that their bookstore is in terrible danger of closing as Liz doesn’t have enough money for the rent even though she has tried everything.
Poppy breaks down in tears, and Nina has a terrible panic attack, so she gets taken home by Tom, but she deals with it alone and forces him to leave.
Nina later speaks with her old nanny Louise who gives her some advice on what to do and she tries contacting Tom, but he doesn’t reply to any of her texts.
Nina visits Millie, and they bond.
Nina also gets told how her father was to Millie and how she feels incredibly lonely without him as he was her best friend; Millie also shows Nina their father’s library and that he loved to read too.
When Millie goes to bed, Nina meets Eliza, Millie’s mother and her father’s third wife, who tells her own point of view of her father, but Nina tells her that she doesn’t know what to think of him as everyone tells her own point of view of him.
However, Eliza tells her that there is a big difference in everyone’s stories and they all had remembered him from different periods of time so perhaps at the end of the day Nina would be the one who would truly know about him.
It’s finally the day of the will reading, and it turns out that all the other children get an equal share of money while Nina on the other hand, gets a car to which everyone is confused, and Nina refuses it as she doesn’t know how to drive, but she has to keep it.
Nina arrives at the faraway garage where he meets the car’s keeper, who is not very happy to see who gets the car.
He is shocked as to why her father would leave her his favorite thing even though she never knew him; He explains that he and her father were excellent friends so after a while he decides to teach her how to drive the car and after she satisfies him, he gives her the keys stating that he will fix whatever gets damaged afterward.
As Nina drives it, she finds out that the car actually contains letters with the name of each of the children, including one of herself.
When Nina reads the letter, she figures out that all along, her father hadn’t forgotten her and even saw her from the sidelines sometimes; he had also left her some money and explained a few things.
After reading the letter, a drop of tear sheds from her tear ducts.
Nina takes it upon herself to deliver each of them, and we see as she arrives at the house of Lydia intending just to give the letter and leave but is invited inside.
Nina and Lydia both also learn that they are incredibly similar, and her house even reminds Nina a little of hers, and she is also very interested in her job.
They both bond a little, and Lydia is very perceptive, so Nina also tells her about Tom and how things ended when suddenly she gets a call from Liz telling her to come to the bookstore right away.
But Nina was quite far away, so Lydia suggests she drive, and Nina has no choice but to accept.
They get to the bookstore in twenty minutes, thanks to Lydia’s insane driving, and they find that the front of the shop is surrounded by people.
There was supposed to be a beauty shop instead, so the crowd was divided into two with young women and the library’s supporters and after arguing fails, a fight ensues.
Lydia thinks it’s quite fun, but Nina drags her away, and they enter the store where they find Liz and the landlord hiding.
After the crowd outside littles, they can leave again, and Lydia presses the matter of Tom again.
Nina feels confident suddenly and agrees to go with Lydia to where the club is since it was one of his matches finals, but they find him nowhere and instead talk to Lisa who tells them that she too hasn’t seen him since but he suddenly arrives totally ignoring Nina and they go in.
During the match, Nina and Tom make up, and the next day, Nina goes back to the bookstore and also tells the landlord that she will be able to pay the bill with the money she acquired from her father and everything falls back into place.
The End.
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