I AM CRYING!!! my heart.. my heart is so full!! what a truly happy and beautiful story. if you want to believe in humanity again read this book. now. it shows that first, second, and third appearances can get people on the wrong foot and that kindness is everywhere. this story! and the characters!! i wanted to be around all of them and listen to them and help them. the sweetness in this story isn't the sugary too sweet kind but instead the kind that is satisfying and inspiring ( )

I loved this sweet story about a man, Frank, who is searching for a woman he met 60 years earlier on the 88 bus. He lost the ticket where she wrote her number, so he spends his days looking for her on the bus to thank her for changing the direction of his life.
When a young woman, Libby, gets on the bus, Frank mistakes her for the woman he met 60 years earlier, because of her ginger hair. She explains that she isn't the woman, but after hearing his story, decides to make it her mission to find the woman. Another bus passenger, Dylan, dressed in punk attire, also helps.
This is such a wonderful story of kindness and friendship. So endearing. ( )

Happy (U.S.)Publication Day! (August 30,2022)

4.5⭐

A chance meeting between twenty-nine-year-old Libby Nicholls and the elderly Frank Weiss a retired theater actor on the number 88 bus results in an unlikely friendship that impacts both of their lives in the best possible ways. In their first meeting on the bus, Frank reminisces about a similar chance meeting with another red-haired young lady - an aspiring artist who made quite the impression on the young man that he was in 1962. A hastily scribbled phone number on the bus ticket that was promptly lost put a wrench in their plans to meet at the National Gallery in London. However, their brief conversation had a positive impact on Frank’s life for which he has always been grateful. He has since frequently traveled the same bus hoping to meet her again with no success. He still hopes to meet her someday and express his gratitude for her advice all those years ago. Libby was recently dumped by her boyfriend of eight years and is currently living with her sister’s family in London while figuring out her future. Frank’s story touches her heart and motivates her to help him in his quest.

As the narrative progresses, we get to know more about these two friends and the people they meet in the course of their journey, including Dylan who is Frank's caregiver and friend and Esme, Dylan's friend. Not only the main characters but each of the supporting characters are very well fleshed out (even the few who are not that likable). Frank is depicted as a kind and loving human being whose gestures of kindness have touched the lives of so many people around him over the years as is evident from the number of people coming forward to help Libby and Frank in their venture and cheer them on. Libby is a sweet young woman who is yet to fulfill her dreams but as the narrative progresses we see her grow as a person and learn to prioritize herself, something she has rarely done in the past.

"The Lost Ticket" by Freya Sampson is a delightful, heartwarming read with a cast of interesting characters, an engaging plotline and a whole lot of heart! With short chapters, engaging dialogue and quite a few surprises for both Frank and Libby along the way the narrative keeps you immersed till the very end. The author touches upon themes of friendship, family, aging and second chances with the utmost compassion. Overall, this is a beautiful story that that left me with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. Last year, I really enjoyed Freya Sampson’s The Last Chance Library which was a lovely story and with “The Lost Ticket”, the author does not disappoint!

I received a digital review copy of this novel from Berkley (Penguin Random House) via Edelweiss . All opinions expressed in this review are my own. ( )

Libby, thrown over by her lover, meets elderly Frank on a London bus and joins him in his quest to find a girl he met some 50 years ago. ( )

This book started out so well, promising to be a sweet, heartwarming story about a young woman helping an old man find a lost love. BUT (and it’s a big “but”) there is a huge loophole with the premise. *I’m going to review the book without any spoilers*

In 1962 London, twenty-year-old Frank meets a red-haired young artist on the number 88 bus and promptly falls in love. They make a date to meet at the National Gallery on Sunday, she gives him her phone number, but he loses the number before Sunday. He hopes to find her again on the same bus (the number 88) and rides it for 60 years looking for her, not knowing her name or anything about her other than that she is going to art school and loves the National Gallery of Art.

In 2022 Libby has just had her heart broken by her boyfriend of eight years, has moved out and comes to stay in London with her sister and family till she figures out what’s next. Libby also has red hair and meets now 80-year-old Frank on the bus. It’s the same bus he has been riding for years, hoping to find his missed love connection.

Frank explains his story to Libby, who decides to help him find the girl from the 88 bus. Uniting with a few strangers who become friends to find the girl (now an elderly woman!), adventures and romance ensue.

And the clock is ticking as Frank has dementia, which is quickly progressing. His daughter wants him to move to a care home which would prevent him from riding the bus and finding his lost love.

Except for the loophole, which has to do with the National Gallery of Art, I enjoyed this novel. I had to suspend my disbelief occasionally to accept certain plot developments, as well as forgive Libby for being so wimpy around her old boyfriend and her family. When I first finished reading this (with tears in my eyes), I considered it a 5-star read. But once I recognized the loophole, I sadly knocked off 2 stars. ( )