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pianokeys's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Grief, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship
eejanke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Minor: Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
haileyhardcover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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Oooh we’re gonna get honest and dark with this review, folks… buckle up or back out now!
I’ve been suicidal (always passively, and sometimes actively) since I was 6-years-old. That’s not a typo. I can very clearly remember sitting in my childhood bedroom, legs dangling off of the edge of my red bunk bed, and thinking “I’m going to kill myself.” I’ve managed to trick myself into staying alive for the last 30 years, but I can’t say it’s been easy and I’ve made a lot of choices I wish I could take back - closed a lot of doors I wish I had walked through, run through others that I should have slammed shut. In the really dark moments the thing I regret most is not just ending things when I was 6 or 16 or 26. A whole book of regrets.
The concept of The Midnight Library really appealed to me. On the edge of death, Nora is given the opportunity to address her greatest regrets and sample the lives she could have had if she’d made different choices, in the hopes of find one where she could be happy - one where she would want to keep living. Spoiler Alert:
Maybe it’s wrong for me to hate the optimistic ending, but I do. If an anti-suicide message was the goal (and of course it was, because who is out here writing pro-suicide novels?) I truly would’ve preferred the gut punch ending of Nora realizing her root life was the best one for her and still dying anyway. A “learn from this character’s mistake” kind of approach. You made your death bed, now die in it.
Disappointing ending aside, it’s not a bad book, but it’s not great either. I can’t say I particularly liked any of the characters, it’s difficult to stay grounded in a story that’s primarily spent jumping between different lives, and there were plot points that were just fully abandoned (like Hugo and the other “sliders”… why even bother with that?) but it’s an enjoyable enough concept, easy to binge, and most of the chapters are very short, which I love. I doubt I would pick this book up again, but it was a decent way to occupy my brain for a couple of days.
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, and Animal death
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Cancer, Car accident, Drug abuse, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Stalking
jovial_cherry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Drug use and Addiction
Minor: Suicide
mangofraiche's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Death of parent, and Self harm
paula357's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Addiction, and Animal death
Minor: Cancer
beckerdoodle9's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Car accident, Dementia, Cancer, and Death of parent
ssurber98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Addiction, Death, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Self harm, and Panic attacks/disorders
meaganb914's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Terminal illness, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Death of parent, Car accident, Cancer, and Animal death
leahegood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
In The Horse and His Boy, Aslan tells Lucy, "To know what would have happened, child? No. Nobody is ever told that." This book turns that sentiment upside-down. What if we could know what would have happened?
Following a similar trajectory to the classic movie, It's a Wonderful Life, Nora Seeds decides to end her life. In the nowhere between life and death, she finds herself in "The Midnight Library." As George Bailey was presented with the opportunity to observe a world where he was never born, Nora is given the chance to see what life might have been like if she made different choices along the way. What will she learn from stepping into the pages of a myriad of what ifs?
My Thoughts
This book was, most defininately, literary fiction ... which I typically don't care for. However, The Midnight Library provided a clearer path than most literary fiction and swirled it together with enough fantasy that I enjoyed the journey. Nora's "inciting incident" is depressive despair and the implied "promise to the reader" is that the lessons of the Midnight Library will renew her appreciation of life. A bit "preachy"? Perhaps. But whimsically and, even, compellingly so.
The consistent, prevalent swearing prevented this from rating higher in my personal preference.
Overall, I would say this is a good book for anyone who enjoys It's a Wonderful Life or In 27 Days, but is okay with more mature content and a liberal-leaning worldview.
Content
Romance: Overall, minimal. Nora somewhat regretfully/somewhat bitterly remembers a former fiance. As she explores other lives, she sleeps with three different men. Two are her husband in that life, one is not. In all of the encounters, she simply states that action occures with minimal commentary. Topics like s*xting are mentioned briefly. Her brother's sexuality (gay) comes up several times throughout the story, and she is supportive of his relationships both in her real life and in the possibilities she explores.
Language: This isn't a book where there are curse words on every page, but Nora does swear with steady consistency and is not shy about employing f-bombs (once used in a steady stream). J*sus and G*d are both employed as curses.
Violence: Almost non-existent and always non-graphic. Nora's cat dies. She notices self-inflicted scars on her body in various lives. Obviously she makes an attempt to end her life.
Religion: Nora's worldview is entirely secular.
Quotes I Liked
"The game is never over until it is over. It isn't over if there is a single pawn left on the board. If one side is down to a pawn and a king, and the other side has every player, there is still a game."
"...she had managed to convince herself there was no way out of her misery. That, she supposed, was the basis of depression, as well as the difference between fear and despair. Fear was when you wandered into a cellar and worried the door would swing shut. Despair was when the door closed and locked behind you. But with every life she saw that metaphorical door widen a little further as she grew better at using her imagination."
"All this was meaningless without love."
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Minor: Death of parent, Self harm, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, and Sexual content