The Story
Synopsis for The Lost Ticket from the publisher
THE LOST TICKET by Freya Sampson
THE LOST TICKET is perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and The Authenticity Project.
When Libby Nicholls arrives in London, brokenhearted and with her life in tatters, the first person she meets on the bus is elderly Frank. He tells her about the time in 1962 that he met a girl on the number 88 bus with beautiful red hair just like hers. They made plans for a date at the National Gallery art museum, but Frank lost the bus ticket with her number on it. For the past sixty years, he’s ridden the same bus trying to find her, but with no luck.
Libby is inspired to action and, with the help of an unlikely companion, she papers the bus route with posters advertising their search. Libby begins to open her guarded heart to new friendships and a budding romance, as her tightly controlled world expands. But with Frank’s dementia progressing quickly, their chance of finding the girl on the 88 bus is slipping away.
More than anything, Libby wants Frank to see his lost love one more time. But their quest also shows Libby just how important it is to embrace her own chances for happiness—before it’s too late—in a beautifully uplifting novel about how a shared common experience among strangers can transform lives in the most marvelous ways.
My Review: The Lost Ticket
The Lost Ticket is a delightful book with a unique premise that readers will find irresistible. It is three stories, linked together by a bus route in London, where people eventually find each other in something that comes close to fate. It opens with two people on a bus in the early 1960’s, London. A meet-cute, with a heartbreaking ending: a lost ticket that had a phone number and the subsequent missed opportunity.
Readers will see the kernel of the story, an obsession: looking for the girl from the past, turns into a life saving mission for our MC Libby Nicholls. An opportunity to help Frank, the man from the very beginning of the story, find his girl, and find herself in the process.
A Few More Thoughts
And Sampson artfully pulls the reader in multiple directions, leaving the reader wanting to know more. Giving us breadcrumbs along the way, then yanking us in another direction entirely. It’s an alluring chase, where readers will be constantly guessing who Frank’s mystery girl could be. But it’s not just the compelling story of finding someone that makes this an engaging read. It is how Sampson touches on specific topics like newly found friendships, the elderly and the physical/psychological aspects that come with those limitations as we age, acceptance of others while being able to be who you are without judgment, and lost and newly acquired love.
There was only one concern to note, towards the end of the novel during a climactic scene. The transition from the end of that chapter to the next is jarring. There is no indication of the passage of time from one chapter to the next and it can throw readers as they try to grapple with and process what just happened in the previous chapter. An easy fix would be to add some type of time stamp heading like “18 months later.”
Sampson’s book is one of hope, friendship, and unexpected romance. Heartwarming as it is irresistible, The Lost Ticket is one of finding and forging love and happiness regardless of the circumstances each one of these characters face.
Happy Reading ~ Cece
RATING: 
– Exceptionally Inked
Publication Details
| Pub Date | ISBN | Page Count | Publisher | Age Group | Source & Format | Review Posted Online |
| 30-Aug-22 | 978-0593201411 | 368 | Berkley | Adult | NetGalley, Digital ARC | July 9, 2022 |
Similar Books Recommended by Sheaf & Ink
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman
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Mad Honey, Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
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I’m Cecelia and I’m so glad you’re here! You’ll find honest reviews, book recommendations, along with other bookish essentials. So happy you stopped by!
– C
