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A young journalist finds a cobalt bottle filled with the dreams of four friends who are now elderly.

The book starts out slow but soon becomes a 'can't put down read.' The author delves into the lives of four friends who shared their secret dreams. The book takes the reader on four separate journeys with four very different people. ( )

I happened upon this book at the public library, and remembered that a friend had recommended it. I liked the premise of the story very much: four young friends write their dreams for the future and put them all in a bottle which is then nestled in the rafters of an attic. 65 years later, the bottle is discovered by a reporter and she takes it as her personal journey to find out what became of each woman.

The reporter, Brendan, fell completely flat for me. I had no sympathy for her and related to her just on a very surface-level. Her angst seemed to be self-fulfilling and that always brings a lack of compassion from me.

The four frends, however, saved the rating for me. I loved how their stories were interwoven and took turns that were completely unexpected. I felt as if I was getting to know them as I read, and wanted to know more as the story wore on. I would have liked to be in the company of these friends.

While the book earns only 3 stars from me this time, it reads a bit like a first or second novel, and I will definitely read more by this author, hoping her style matures a bit.

Recommended. ( )

Four friends make a pact one Christmas day during the great depression years. They each place a piece of paper in a blue bottle with their future dreams written on it and hidden in the attic of an old house. The bottle was found many years later by a reporter who tries to find the four friends and discover their lives and secrets.