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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
kaitkat2213's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, and Self harm
whateves99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Animal death
Moderate: Alcohol, Vomit, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
birdieex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Death, Grief, Suicide, Death of parent, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Moderate: Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Medical content, Cancer, and Homophobia
Minor: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Sexual assault, and Infidelity
lifeofawannabee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, and Animal death
staceyinthesticks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Death
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Alcohol, and Infidelity
bookwormcat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Mental illness, Vomit, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, and Panic attacks/disorders
capriqueen'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
3.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Mental illness
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Death of parent
melovesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Addiction, and Car accident
alixsbooktherapy'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? No
5.0
I'm sobbing now I finished this book it was another good book by Matt haig and definitely one I'll be talking about for a very long time.
Huge flirting with nora was so cute
"The sex turned out to be disappointing"
"You are just a Mechanism"
This book is sooo good
This book made me fall in love with the charcters and felt the stories I would recommend this to everyone I know especially if you don't believe you should be here, you are loved and I'm glad you are alive.
I'm so glad joe got sober and he became the person he needed to be😭
This book was so inspiring and hit me hard unfortunately I know how nora felt throughout This book, and some of the topics hit home for me, the best advice I can give any reader is please take care of yourself after reading this there is plenty of heavy topics
Graphic: Terminal illness, Vomit, Car accident, Dementia, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Cancer, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Suicide, Death of parent, Death, and Mental illness