Battle of the Bookstores

Ryan Lawson is a protagonist, point-of-view character, and the male love interest of the novel. He is described as around Josie’s age with “messy brown hair and tortoiseshell glasses” and honey-colored eyes. He is nearly always wearing a cardigan and a pink lanyard with various romance-related pins (5). During their first meeting, Josie admits that Ryan has a “small-town librarian” vibe going for him, which works well for a bookseller (11), but she is irked by his disheveled hair, which she believes indicates that the mess extends to other areas of his life—perhaps even his managerial skills. While still in her denial period, Josie states that Ryan is “the antithesis of everything [she] value[s]” citing qualities such as “unkempt, disorganized, anti-intellectual” as proof (90). Her wrongful judgment of his character is due in part to her fear of connection and her disbelief in happy endings, but ingrained literary elitism also plays a part. It isn’t until Josie gets to know Ryan better (and vice versa) that Breaking Down Artificial Genre Boundaries plays a pivotal role in the development of their relationship.

After learning about the competition, Ryan is stressed about the reality that either he or Josie will lose their store. Rather than thinking of how this affects his personal goals in that moment, he instinctively thinks of how his brothers would “be happy to see [him] lose and get a more ‘masculine’ job” that “won’t make them question [his] sexuality or the fact that [he’s] single” (14). Ryan’s instinct to worry about what others think of him, especially faced with the potential loss of his job, reveals his insecurities, which provide the foundation for his internal conflict throughout the novel. He has always lived in the shadow of his ambitious, intellectual, and athletic older brothers, who have since become very successful in their professional and personal lives. As he later admits to Josie anonymously on BookFriends, he “was the participation trophy kid in a first-place family” (126). Compared to them, Ryan feels as though he’s always falling short.

Ironically, Ryan is also his own foil through the anonymous BookFriends profile, “RJ Reads.” Because RJ is anonymous, Josie finds it easier to open up to him emotionally. However, because Ryan is present in person, Josie is able to kindle a physical desire for him. While overall this helps Ryan get to know Josie better, his alternate persona causes issues for him. When Ryan wishes Josie would open up to him, she pulls away and prefers to discuss emotional topics only with RJ, but when RJ wants to meet in person, Josie pushes him away. This aspect of his character highlights the internal conflicts Josie is struggling with and must overcome to find happiness.

Georgia Klein is Josie’s sister and a minor supporting character. Georgia’s importance to Josie is made clear in the early chapters when Josie states that “for her, [she’d] throw every book [she] own[s] in front of a moving train—plus [her]self, for good measure” (26). This self-sacrificing behavior is Josie’s response to the traumas of their childhood, when their own mother couldn’t be there for them.

Because Josie shielded Georgia as much as she could from the trauma of their upbringing, Georgia is “a more relaxed, optimistic version of [Josie]” and is “fearless and unguarded and fun” (27). Georgia is also highly perceptive and analytical due to being in graduate school for psychology. While Josie is supportive of Georgia’s academic pursuits, it also serves as a stark reminder of what Josie gave up for her due to their mother’s poor decisions following Georgia’s accident. However, Josie admires her sister’s resilience and strength, noting that “she deals with the effects of that accident every day—and she hasn’t let that stop her” (143).

Georgia’s academic focus allows her to be a voice of wisdom and a bridge between Josie and their mother in the novel. Georgia is more understanding about their mother’s emotional states and more forgiving about the tumultuous upbringing she and Josie had. She is also more perceptive than even Josie is about Josie’s coping mechanisms, especially surrounding relationships and love. Georgia’s critiques about Josie’s avoidance of connection force Josie to look in the mirror and do the work to bring about personal change that will foster happiness.