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acitygirlsthoughts's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books, Simon & Schuster, and Janet Skeslien Charles for choosing me to review this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
I'm a huge fan of WWII historical fiction so I couldn't pass up this opportunity to review this! On top of that, I'm also an avid library user and supporter, so two of my favorite topics in one book? Yes! I enjoyed Janet's exploration of the different employees who worked at the American Library in Paris, their quirks, and Odile's (the protagonist's) all-conuming love for her work and friends at the American Library in Paris. Told in alternating point-of-views: Lily, an ambitious, lovable, and curious teen who's Odlie's neighbor in 1980's Montana, USA, and Odile herself.
Lily's growth from her middle school to high school years are influenced by Odile's wisdom as she helps Lily navigate adolesence through her mistakes she made as a teen herself. Although she didn't experience the brunt of WWII, her run-ins with the Nazis on-the-job shaped her morals and ethics as she dealt with secret spies for the Nazis, anti-semitism, and her friend's questionable loyalty to the Allies. Assumptions and hesitation led to some hiccups in her relationships but she used those lessons to teach Lily how to deal with situations similar to her's, such as jealousy. The writing isn't hard to follow; there's a few typos at the beginning but other than that it's fine.
Odile, Lily, Odile's family, Felix (Odile's boyfriend), Mary Louise, Odile's second husband, and the residents of Montana are the only fictional characters in this story, but just because they're fictional doesn't mean I agree with their justifications as a teachable moment. For example - this will be a spoiler but its worth mentioning - Odile tricks her husband into thinking she's single when she's currently married to Felix, all because Felix beat up her friend over her (friend's) affair with a Nazi. There's also an emotional disconnect between the reader and Odile's WWII story. Yes, she's probably blessed to have escaped a lot of violence and gore under the Nazis, but I didn't feel the thriller-esque feel promised, even when she physically ran into them twice. But other than that it's a great story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Infidelity
briwithabook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow, did I love this book! While it was based during WWII, as so many historical fiction books are, it focused on a topic I knew nothing about until reading this book: The American Library in Paris. The library sounds like it was an lovely place even before the war, but what's really incredible is the heroes that worked there during WWII. Their dedication to their jobs, subscribers, and their soldiers is incredible. I think it's amazing that they made the effort to send and deliver books to soldiers to help keep up their morale.
This book included a great cast of characters, and it was incredible to learn that many of them were real people, and this was based on their real stories! I found most of the characters likeable and really liked the dual timeline. So many times with dual timeline books, the more recent timeline is present day, so the people who lived through WWII are not normally present in the current day timeline. But because this book's more recent timeline was set in the 1980's, we got to experience Odile's story both in the 1940's and the 1980's. I really enjoyed her friendship with Lily and the advice and direction that she gave her.
If I had to find one thing to critique it's that there was a part of Odile's life that was explained towards the end of the book that felt a bit rushed. I realize there was no way to explain all of those years in detail, but because I found Odile so endearing, I would've loved to have known more about her life in the years in between the two timelines that were the focus of the book. So not necessarily a critique, just a desire for more, because I enjoyed Odile's story so much!
I also really appreciated the library setting, as I think any bibliophile will. This was a great story that was well-written and, judging by the author's note at the end, also very well-researched. I will look for more work from Janet Skeslien Charles in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence and Hate crime
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