A review by chelsbels
The Book Censor's Library by Bothayna Al-Essa

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa

Is mindbending!

Adding to the great dystopian literature, like 1984, The Giver, or Fahrenheit 451, Al-Essa makes a wonderful commentary about books, rewriting history and government control over children.  What makes this new and different is the magical realism.

We have lovely rabbits hopping around, little girls who know all the fairy tales even if she’s never read a single book. It also gets a little trippy, with books that bite!

We follow our unnamed book censor as he falls deep down the rabbit hole as he becomes a reader, one that questions, dreams, imagines, and most importantly sees the cracks in the beautiful new world.  What is fascinating now that I think of it, no character is named except for characters from the books they read. Like Zorba the Greek, Simba, Geppetto etc. But it is no less very emotive. 

This novel is for anyone who likes dystopian novels, and like books about books.