Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting

IONA IVERSON'S RULES FOR COMMUTING by Clare Pooley (The Authenticity Project) is a fun summer read. Iona is truly unique – she is an older, well-established magazine therapist (certainly not, as she informs others, an agony aunt) who offers advice and guidance in her own eccentric way (carrying a huge bag stuffed with everything and accompanied by a French bulldog named Lulu). There’s concern (and some ageism) at the magazine involving worry that she’s become out of touch and irrelevant to readers, but her vitality is acknowledged and re-invigorated after surprising interactions with some other commuters on her daily train near London. Piers (a financial trader), Sanjay (a nurse), Emmie (works in advertising), and Martha (still in high school and struggling with social relationships) form a community of sorts as they bond over adventures on (and off) the train and affection for Iona. Told by multiple narrators, IONA IVERSON'S RULES FOR COMMUTING received a starred review (“YAs will revel in Pooley's upbeat and funny intergenerational novel about strangers finding common ground“) from Booklist and is a LibraryReads selection for June 2022.