The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zavin

Sometimes (not as often as I would like) I read a book and say to myself ‘I wish I’d created that character’. A J Fikry is one of those characters. Why do I wish I’d created him? Because without a lot of physical description and background information I feel I know him, understand him and relate to him. The situation Gabrielle Zevin puts him in is full of reality, warmth, love, and sadness. And the supporting cast are so cleverly drawn that any one of them could be the central character of a novel.
Rarely (I even think never) have I come to the end of a book and thought ‘I hope there’s a sequel’. But here I would like to know how the lives of Amy and Maya were influenced by having known A J Fikry (yes, yes I know they’re fictional characters and don’t have a life after the book finishes, but …)