Fremantle Press, March 2021
Available in paperback, ebook, audio and large print

Cait Copper’s best friends have always been books - along with the rare souls who love them as much as she does, like the grandmotherly June. When Cait set up her shop, Book Fiend, right in the heart of the city, she thought she’d skipped straight to ‘happily ever after’.

But things are changing, and fast. June’s sudden interest in Cait’s lacklustre love life and the appearance of the handsome ‘Mystery Shopper’ force her to concede there might be more to happiness than her shop and her cat. The city is transforming, with luxury chain stores circling Book Fiend’s prime location. And meanwhile, a far more personal tragedy is brewing.

Soon Cait is questioning not only the viability of the shop, but the life she’s shaped around it. An unlikely band of allies is determined she won’t face these questions alone; but is a love of books enough to halt the march of progress and time?

Praise for The Last Bookshop

"Emma Young's knowledge of literature wafts through this story of love, loss and loneliness like a warm breeze, reminding us that stories can help heal."

- Australian Women's Weekly

"Beautifully realised ... sweet and wholesome entertainment."

- The Weekend Australian

"Someone whose life of wide reading has deepened their understanding of the layered complexities of the human condition ... a storyteller with a sure grasp of the world she is creating."

- Sydney Morning Herald


"A gently optimistic novel that celebrates both the joys of reading and the ways it can bring people together."

- The West Australian, Play magazine

More praise for The Last Bookshop