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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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