Reviews with content warning for Drug use - The Midnight Library

I have an unfortunate habit of starting to mirror characters in the media I consume, for better or for worse. At the halfway point, I was nervous that it would make me miserable. Nora Seed, however, contains multitudes. This book was a delight. Although I correctly predicted the ending and the plot itself was very easy to divine, I still had a good time watching Nora's journey. Definitely a good addition to my library.

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akendall20's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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mariannaaslund's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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nikimorr's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

MAJOR TW: suicide, overdose

Although this book does end up taking a positive turn, it is very dark and should be cautioned to anyone struggling with or affected by mental illness.

Nora decides to die. Her life is going poorly, and it seems like everything is falling apart. She loses her job, her cat dies, her parents are dead, her brother does not speak to her, and she has distanced from old friends. After intentionally overdosing, she ends up in a strange purgatory - a library stuck in time. And in this library, Nora can undo any regret and live the life she would have had she made different choices. Essentially, Nora is trying out all of her parallel universes, and she can pick out a new life. Dark.

However, as Nora tries out different lives, she begins to learn about herself and human kind. No matter what decisions she could have made differently, every life has its sadness and difficulties. Although some different lives may add some happiness, all of them come with different sets of challenges too. It is all about learning to live through the good and bad (and really, just living, a universal experience). Every little decision she’s made (and gets to undo) has had a ripple effect, including impacting not only herself but all of those around her substantially. She learns how even the smallest kindness she’s afforded others has made a huge impact on them. She, without realizing, has made a positive impact just by existing.

Although predictable in how it will end, the journey was still extremely thoughtful. And in the end, although we’re left with a lot of unknowns, it is easy to know Nora will be happy.

It is truly amazing how much story this author fit into such a short book. It is obvious that Matt Haig is brilliant and knowledgeable, but yet he still manages to make his point simply and quickly.

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sura_bhi's review against another edition

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reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It wraps up the entire book neatly. It's a cute read. It doesn't put across anything profound and may feel dull at times, cringey even- but, I guess that's what happens when you reflect on your emotions.

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aaannina's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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