A weekly date with a stranger becomes a therapy session for Carlie and a lesson in listening for Dean.
A daring move forges the love of a lifetime.
A rushed lunch and a bold move introduce Carlie to a stranger—one who hardly acknowledges her existence as he sits across from her, sharing his booth to save her a wait in a long line.
What began as a random encounter becomes a weekly date in which Carlie chatters about her life to a silent lunchmate. Much about him interests her–his slightly Euro fashion sense, his commitment to the work he does as he eats his lunch week after week, and his evident attention to the running monologue she shares between bites of meals that he inevitably pays for.
Dean gets to know the woman across from him–looks forward to their lunches each week, learns valuable lessons about himself—but when the cafe is threatened, and then when she doesn’t show up one day, he suspects their unusual friendship means more to him than he imagined.
Settle into the booth with Carlie and Dean and learn just how eloquent silence really is.
Corner Booth made me think about stepping out of my comfort zone. It is a delightful story with very interesting characters. Though I did not see myself in any of the primary characters, they were still relatable. The plot is, for the most part, light-hearted. There are a few intense moments that make you need to read the next chapter before taking a break though. ~PS
Carlie has a lot going for her — beautiful, smart, good friend, compassionate — but doesn’t see herself being worthy of good things. She especially shows poor decision-making in her boyfriend selections which is reflective of her poor self esteem. In a spontaneous — yet providential — decision to step out of her comfort zone and meet new people, she begins to have lunch with Dean, a normally loquacious and vivacious child-prodigy professor at a local Bible college. As Carlie learns of her high worth in Christ from Dean, Dean learns the “intrinsic value of the art of listening.” This is a beautiful picture of two people who not only need each other, but grow to complete each other. ~MrsKinsey