Maxine is a resident in a Parisian care home who decides to go to Belgium so that she can be in control of her own demise as she thinks she has Alzheimer’s. Alex is a deeply depressed young law student who advertises for someone to share his car journey to Brussels; he is expecting a young man called Max but gets a lot more than he bargained for.
The unlikely friendship that develops between these two very different characters forms the basis of this charming and witty tale. I love a road trip theme in a book or film and this does not disappoint. Maxine and Alex are both on the run from the lives they currently find themselves living. Over the space of a few days, Maxine helps Alex much more than his emotionally unsupportive parents have ever done; she is like the grandmother he never had. And Alex is determined to make Maxine see that she has so much living still to do.
The Car Share is translated from the French though it is not obvious when you are reading it. It deals with some serious subjects, such as depression and our attitude to the elderly, but they are woven into the story and dealt with in a sensitive way. There are numerous music and film references to spot, and every woman surely needs a handbag like Maxine’s.
The characters of Maxine and Alex are well drawn and believable, the mood veers between really sad and very funny, and I can see it being perfect material for a film script. The overriding message is that life is short, and age is just a number, so make the most of every day while you can. If you are curious as to what happened next, at the end of the book is a link to a bonus chapter set five years after the events of The Car Share. I really enjoyed this uplifting story and look forward to reading more by this author in the future. Thanks to Hodder and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

Color me unimpressed

Did not finish at about 40%.

Expectation: the idea sounded fun, and I went in expecting a humorous, light, and frothy book. Something like the early books of Sophie Kinsella. An unlikely pair? A road trip? Yes, please.

Reality: stilted writing style, forced jokes that were not funny. An example: the old lady has this thing of mixing expressions that is supposed to be a) hilarious, and b) a sign of Alzheimer's. Unfortunately, it's neither, and sometimes it was painful to read because these expressions were obviously made up by the author after long deliberation. See for yourself:
"I've always had a bit of a problem with expressions. It often made my husband laugh. The first sentence I ever said to him was an example of one of these little changes I tend to make to our language".
"What did you say to him?"
"That I was coming to see him, like it or rot."

I just didn't buy the plot, too. Maxine has no signs of Alzheimer's, so the reasoning for her ending her life in two days (with the help of doctors, no less) doesn't hold water. Also, small details were so unbelievable it was irritating. A Prada shop in a small nameless town in the middle of nowhere? Yeah, right. It's probably doing a roaring trade there. The depressed guy going into a full-scale panic attack (chattering teeth, sweating profusely, etc.) on seeing a police car because - get this - he didn't take the car for its technical inspection in time.

Anyway, it wasn't an awful book, but it just didn't click with me, and the more I read, the more exasperated I became.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a brilliantly funny and kind of different story.

I really liked the two main characters, who were really funny together

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for ARC

If you need an escape from your everyday life and worries, please join Alex and Maxine on their road trip. You will definitely have many laughs and also shed a few tears.

Alex needs to get away, so he decides to drive to Brussels. He advertises for a companion to share the cost. He has just been diagnosed with depression. He asks the doctor: "Is it serious?" and the doctor says," Everyone is depressed these days." Ain't that the truth.
Max (Maxine) replies to Alex's ad. She lives in a retirement home and has her own reasons for wanting to go to Brussels.
Both are surprised at who their companion will be during this trip. The bond that develops between the two of them is priceless. Definitely a book that had me smiling frequently.

This is a life affirming book. Maxine, whose zest for living is abundant, is trying to make Alex see that a person has to make the most of each and every day. Life is a gift that can't be taken for granted.

This is a quick, light read that will inspire you to look on the bright side and just live the best life you can.

“As you get older, I think the most difficult thing to accept is that there are no more prospects. There are no more big projects, no more goals to attain, no more dreams. The only goal is to delay the inevitable as long as possible and to do it with as much grace as possible.”

The Car Share is the second novel by French art historian and author, Zoe Brisby. It is translated from French by Kelly Lardin. Heartbroken and depressed when his crush fails to even notice him, Alex decides to travel to Brussels, perhaps to look up an old school friend, or perhaps just to get away. The Car Share app looks like a good way to share costs and not drive alone, but when he arrives at the address, he wonders if he’s been pranked: it’s a retirement home.

Max has to get to Brussels for her final life project, and luckily, there’s someone on Car Share going that way. The person that turns up, though, is nothing like she’d expected. Alex is not Alexandra, as she had imagined, and looks, frankly, like a drug addict. To be fair, he was expecting a Max, not a Maxine, but after the initial confusion, both decide to give it a try.

Tentative exploratory questions from each of them gradually reveal Alex’s depression and its recent trigger, and Maxine’s destination: a euthanasia clinic. Max has (self-diagnosed) Alzheimer’s and, having seen its progress in her late husband, is determined to be in control of her final days.

Soon enough, each is wanting to help the other: Maxine decides her final good deed can be to lift Alex out of his depression, give him some zest for life; Alex is determined to make Max see that life is still worth living, reason enough to cancel her clinic appointment.

Their trip to Brussels turns out to be far from sedate: a Prada shopping trip, pub karaoke, a petrol station attempted robbery, a yurt hotel, fun fair dodgem cars, takeaway in a traffic jam, and a fortune teller, all while the pair are the subject of a media beat up in which the story of a supposed kidnapping gets more outrageous with every bulletin.

Brisby does give her characters some wise words and insightful observations, but this is a sit com with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, some of which border on slap-stick. There are conversations at crossed purposes, some hilarious inner monologues and some of Maxine’s efforts to cheer Alex up are priceless.

The contents of her capacious handbag, which include a thick wad of cash, are a great source of humour, as are her roommate’s longhand test emojis and her many mangled expressions: “You are bravely mistaken!”, “You must steep things in perspective.”, “I feel like I’m casting pearls before wine.”, “like two thieves in a pod.”, “it’ll go like dock work.”, “Get off your seahorse.”, “like it or rot.” And many more.

And this: “Putting it on silent means it doesn’t ring, is that right? Can you do that?”
“Of course, your mobile will do anything you tell it to do.”
The old lady looked suspiciously at the mobile and brought it to her mouth. “SILENCE!” she shouted at the screen.

A bonus chapter available by signing up to the author’s newsletter provides an epilogue that nicely rounds off the story. A delightful, totally fun read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton.

An unusual book, but delightful, witty and emotional in equal measures. There is a light hearted tale of two people sharing a journey, but I think a lot of people will find deeper meaning and wisdom in this book

The car share is an excellent read for any age group, i really enjoyed the book and will read others from Zoe Brisby as she really draws you into the story.
This book has sections that will make you laugh out loud and friendships can come from anyone and anywhere when you least expect it.
The story ends perfectly - I do not want to spoil it by revealing too much but it’s definitely a book that’s a joy to read

Maxine, a nonagenarian escapes from the retirement home to go to Brussels and meets Alex, a heartbroken and depressed guy on a car-sharing website and they go an adventurous journey to Brussels.

Their first encounter itself is so damn funny. Max is determined to change Alex's perspective towards life and bring him out of depression. Whether she will succeed in her mission and Why did Max escape from the retirement home is something you will get to know only if you read the book.

What a humourous, adventurous and fun-filled story this was. I absolutely loved Maxine and Alex's relation. Max is a grandmother that everyone needs to make their life fun and happening. She is so lively and optimistic about everything that makes the readers love her character more.

I loved how Max jumbles up the expressions and is so proud of it. And their adventurous journey with her tote bag which has all essentials that help in any kind of situation, Alex's overthinking habit about everything, Max's knowledge of Crime shows and people which puts Alex in an embarrassing situation every time makes it so hilarious that you can't stop reading it and can't help but laugh out loud throughout the story. I just loved everything about Max.

If you love lighthearted, crazy, humourous stories then this book is highly recommended.

Thanks Netgalley and author Zoe Brisby for the amazing book in exchange for an honest review.

Move over Fern and Wally … Eleanor and Raymond .... Weylyn and Mary … Nina and Tom. Don’t be jealous - I still love you all, but there’s a new delightful duo rocking my world:

Alex and Maxine.

Now hold on, don’t get the wrong idea. These two aren’t a couple - that would be icky: Alex is a down-in-the-dumps 25-year-old young man and Maxine is an energetic, whipsmart 90-year-old woman with the best purse of goodies ever who meet through an app called CarShare.com to rideshare on a trip to Brussels, but in every way that’s important, they stole my heart and put a smile on my face as I watched them bond in friendship over their two days of adventure.

I don’t want to rehash the whole plot since SO many of us have reviewed this book, but the short story is that Alex is deeply depressed and using his trip to Brussels to heal a broken heart and Maxine is a retirement home runaway convinced she has Alzheimer’s and traveling to Brussels to end her life on her own terms. What neither of this unlikely pair expect is how quickly and deeply they’ll come to value each other, and how their newfound friendship will impact their futures.

The madcap, crazy situations and adventures these two find themselves in over two days - and they are doozies - are in turns hilariously comical and sweetly melancholy, with an equal measure of laugh-out-loud moments and moments where I felt genuine tenderness and concern for them. They’re both hurting in their own ways from past and present circumstances, but as they bicker and bond through good times and bad, I felt so invested in how things would play out for both of them. I wasn’t ready for their story to end!

Here’s the good news: There’s a bonus chapter you can email author Zoe Brisby for! I just read it and it was PERFECT. I’m not sure if that chapter will be included when the book is published, but those of you who get the ARC should definitely request it.

If you want a story that warms your heart and proves that age is just a number and family is who you choose, this is just the gem of a book you need!

★★★★★ ❤️
Thanks to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton, Hodder Paperbacks, and author Zoe Brisby for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This will be published June 3, 2021

A case of mistaken identity sees Alex and Max team up and share a carpool for a trip to Brussels.

Each are taking this trip for very different reasons but along the way they strike up a firm friendship.

Full of laughs and tears.

Alex advertises on a car share website for someone to share a car journey with him to Brussels. His only applicant is Max (aka Maxine). Little does Alex know that Max is a 90 year old woman showing the early symptoms of Alzheimer’s and likewise Max knows very little about Alex other than, judging by his disheveled and unhealthy appearance, is most definitely a drug addict. Alex is in fact suffering from depression and is travelling to Brussels to try to turn his life around. Max on the other hand has different reasons for travelling to Brussels and, let loose from the confines of the retirement home, is determined to have a whole lot of fun.

Although polar opposites they end up bonding and forming a close and unexpected friendship. Max is a mischievous and fun loving lady and as a consequence they find themselves in a whole lot of trouble. It’s hilarious and I loved following them and their shenanigans on their journey. The policeman scene when Max segued into her alter ego, Rebecca, tickled me so much and I couldn’t stop giggling. Also amusing are Max’s malapropisms and the Mary Poppins bag she carried everywhere, every time she delved into it a different item materialised and you name it she had it. She really was the star of the show and my favourite character by far. It was lovely seeing Alex’s character development, he’s initially a bit of a mess but his confidence grows as does his affection for Max, he sees her as the grandmother he never had and it’s wonderful to see. The story is simple and a little bit silly at times but it’s still highly entertaining, funny, heart-warming and quite emotional too.

The Car Share will warm your heart and is guaranteed to give you some belly laughs along the way. The characters are charming and delightful and I found myself rooting for them all the way. Light and easy to read, but really well written I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Thank you to the publisher for my e-ARC to review.

An old lady and a young man share a journey to Brussels with interesting results. I enjoyed their relationship and escapades whilst travelling but I’m not quite sure about the ending although I have a feeling many may disagree with me

The story begins with Alex who advertises for a car share from Paris to Brussels and ends up with Maxine as his travel buddy. Alex is going to Brussels to find an old friend and Maxine is going to end things with someone before Alzheimer’s prevents her from doing so.

This book was totally a laugh a minute as the journey goes from chaos to chaos! Alex and Maxine are total opposites in every possible sense but the ride brings them both together in a beautiful, yet hilarious manner.They become each others therapy sessions and help each other to grow as the novel progresses.

Overall, this is such a light hearted read which I would definitely recommend!

A nice read.

Refreshing to read about a friendship between people of such different generations.

I was invited to read this by the publisher, and Netgalley provided me with an arc of this story. Ths is my unbiased review

This is such a gem of a book. It is amusing, heartwarming and entertaining. It is very easy to read and well written. It is translated from French, and sometimes things can get lost in translation, and not make as much sense as they would in the original language. This was translated very well. The protagonist Maxine often uses proverbs, this is the type of of wording that often does not translate very easily,but they did translate well in this book.
There are themes of depression, old age and Euthanasia in this book, but they are dealt with sympathetically and with understanding.
I liked the characters of Alex and Maxine, they worked well together. Maxine was eccentric, unique and delightful.
The plot took place over a couple of days, with Alex and Maxine's car journey. There was a lot that happened over the few days though, to fill the book. The pace was steady, and easy to read.
I was eager to find out the outcome of the journey. I wanted them to have a happy ending, but what exactly this would entail changed throughout the story.
I really enjoyed reading this book. thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my review copy of this book.

A charming and delicately written story of a friendship unfurling between two most unlikely people. Both funny and sad, both without hope for the future and a life-affirming picture of new futures ahead, there is something of everything in this delightful story.

This was a funny, well written and yet poignant story. I think the idea is brilliant and that Maxine and Alex were fantastic travel companions. I hope I am like Maxine when I am an old lady, she rocks.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Max and Alex decide to share a car to go to Belgium.

But when Alex turns up to pick up Max, he gets surprised, the person waiting are not what he was expecting - for the person waiting for him is a 90 year old woman with her heart set on getting to Brussels.

Max is thinking all sorts as she gets into the car with Alex, is he a druggie, murderer etc.

It becomes clear that Max is suffering from Alzheimer’s and wants to make her own decisions regarding her health before it’s too late. Alex is also suffering - depression.

So starts a beautiful friendship - will they reach Brussels and do as they planned.....

What an absolutely wonderful book, full of hope and emotion. Alex posts an ad on a car share site for someone to accompany him on his trip to Brussels. He has been unable to get out of his deep depression, and is looking to try something new. Max answers the ad, and to Alex’s surprise, he ends up traveling with Max, a 96 year old woman, full of stories, adventures and sass. Over two days, the trip will change them both forever. I don’t want to give anything away, since this book is a treat everyone should savor. I can’t recommend it enough. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

As usual in my reviews I will not rehash the plot (there are other reviews like that out there already!).

This was a fun, light read but also dealt with the deeper subjects of loneliness, lack of confidence, and ageing. The main characters Max and Alex are both very well drawn, and their interactions are authentic and believable.

The book had me laughing out loud at times, and gave me a lump in my throat at others. I cared about both characters - not something that happens with every book I read.

There is also a great bonus - you can contact the author (details given at the end of the book) for a further bonus chapter to find out what happens next! I love this sort of interaction with authors!

This was the first novel I'd read by Zoe Brisby, but I will look out for others with pleasure.

This book will lift your spirits, and is an ideal choice if you are looking for a light read with a bit more substance behind it.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC - and to Zoe for the bonus chapter! All opinions my own.