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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide attempt
fun, quick, interesting concept. it was odd to read directly after Addie LaRue, as the stories shared similar and not super common concepts wherein the female protagonist had the ability to try on a bunch of different lives. but whereas in Addie LaRue people never remembered her, Nora in this book had the opposite problem that she would enter a new life and not have any memories of her version of that life up to then. so if she woke up next to someone, she wouldn't know who they were.
i thought there may have been more of a love story with hugh, but i ultimately didn't mind that there wasn't one. but it was interesting that when they first met (in her mind) in their svalbard adventure, he said he was only sticking around because of her, and also mentioned there were other lives where they were in love. so i thought when they (randomly?) met up again, after she had bounced through tons of lives like he had, maybe something permanent would happen between them. but it was almost the opposite. when she started opening up and trying to have a conversation about how unsatisfying all the jumping around was, he immediately disappeared, indicating he was disappointed in the convo. i would have liked a chapter from his POV.
i thought she might really try to stay in the life with Ash where they had a daughter named molly. it seemed like part of her also wanted that, but she was fearful the whole time that it would disappear, which raised questions to me about how it all worked. is the idea that you can't control what disappoints you? if everything was perfect and the only downside was that she "hadn't earned" that life, then wouldn't that always be the case? was the author trying to say that ultimately everyone who entered their own version of the midnight library would either keep jumping around or else wind up going back to their root life? is there not really any way to be satisfied with a different version of your life? is the whole point to simply make you appreciate your circumstances in your root life? part of me was interested in a version of this book wherein she did continue to jump around, but not b/c she was unsatisfied per say. more like she jumped around, and when she found a worthwhile life she lived it out, maybe even to old age! but then left before she died so she could start over, essentially finding a way to immortality.
the end of the book was a bit heavy handed in it's "there's no place like home" themes. enough so that it made me wonder if this was meant to be a YA book. but overall super enjoyable. have already recommended it others, and would read something else by the author.
i thought there may have been more of a love story with hugh, but i ultimately didn't mind that there wasn't one. but it was interesting that when they first met (in her mind) in their svalbard adventure, he said he was only sticking around because of her, and also mentioned there were other lives where they were in love. so i thought when they (randomly?) met up again, after she had bounced through tons of lives like he had, maybe something permanent would happen between them. but it was almost the opposite. when she started opening up and trying to have a conversation about how unsatisfying all the jumping around was, he immediately disappeared, indicating he was disappointed in the convo. i would have liked a chapter from his POV.
i thought she might really try to stay in the life with Ash where they had a daughter named molly. it seemed like part of her also wanted that, but she was fearful the whole time that it would disappear, which raised questions to me about how it all worked. is the idea that you can't control what disappoints you? if everything was perfect and the only downside was that she "hadn't earned" that life, then wouldn't that always be the case? was the author trying to say that ultimately everyone who entered their own version of the midnight library would either keep jumping around or else wind up going back to their root life? is there not really any way to be satisfied with a different version of your life? is the whole point to simply make you appreciate your circumstances in your root life? part of me was interested in a version of this book wherein she did continue to jump around, but not b/c she was unsatisfied per say. more like she jumped around, and when she found a worthwhile life she lived it out, maybe even to old age! but then left before she died so she could start over, essentially finding a way to immortality.
the end of the book was a bit heavy handed in it's "there's no place like home" themes. enough so that it made me wonder if this was meant to be a YA book. but overall super enjoyable. have already recommended it others, and would read something else by the author.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ganz nett für nebenbei, aber wieder einmal aus einer seeehr privilegierten Position heraus geschrieben.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Woman tries to kill herself, only to come back from the brink and make a sanctimonious Facebook post about how enlightened she is after her near death experience. Nora feels like a hollow idea of what someone thinks depression is. She's a cringey, inspirational Facebook posting, "I'm 14 and this is deep" type of character.
This is a preachy self-help book masquerading as a fiction novel that reads like a fanfic. I wish I could find the alternate reality where I didn't waste my time reading this book.
This is a preachy self-help book masquerading as a fiction novel that reads like a fanfic. I wish I could find the alternate reality where I didn't waste my time reading this book.
The idea of this appeals massively to me. I did spend most of the book thinking it would be a 3-star read and that the execution wasn't what I wanted, but I was surprised by how the ending made me feel. A lot of beautiful ideas are shared, and so I think it ends up worth its while.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
inspiring
reflective