Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.

I feel like the summary doesn't entirely encapsulate what really made this book work for me.

The letters are an important part of it, as they show the threads of Parker and her grandmother's relationship. Seeing the bond the two had anchors the novel before we begin to truly delve into who Parker is. She's a lonely, tired, going-with-the-motions woman on the verge of thirty, and she's hasn't got much to show for her life. Her grandmother is a wonderfully eccentric woman, but she's fallen ill to Alzheimer's (or something similar) and the struggle Parker goes through as she deals (and doesn't deal) with starting to lose the only person in her life who matters is agonizing and wonderful to read.

It was slow going at first, but I loved reading about Parker, from her initial denial to her depression to her slowly beginning to understand and deal with everything. She doesn't just deal with her grandmother's disease, she has her own mid-life crisis to deal with, and she's just -- she's a mess. I've never found myself wanting to walk into a book and hug the character more than I did with Parker.

Letters in Cardboard Boxes is a slow read going in, but it's so worth it for the character work alone. Parker isn't the liveliest or most interesting of people ever, but reading everything she goes through is just...fascinating.