A review by leahsbooks
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I've heard great things about this book, but had no idea what to really expect when I started it. The audiobook came through before the ebook did, and I'm glad it did, because the narrator was perfect for it. 

Nora struggles with depression and panic attacks, and finds herself in a life full of regrets, wondering what her life could have been if she had made different choices. And one more decision leads her to the Midnight Library, where she finds books containing every possible life she could have had waiting for her to just jump into. 

And while she is hesitant at first, she eventually gets used to the idea and starts trying on each new life to see which one fits best. But she sees that one different decision leads to a butterfly-effect like cascade of consequences down the line. 

I loved seeing Nora change throughout the book. Even when she was at her lowest point, suffering and miserable, she was still a character that I empathized with. I wanted to see her do well and find happiness. She never blamed anyone else for any situation that she found herself in, for poor choices that she made, for anything. She wasn't whiny, even if she was miserable. She didn't act like a jerk even when people acted like a jerk to her, and I really liked that about her. She was a genuinely nice person. 

I loved the idea of the library. I can't help but wonder what it would be like to have access to a Midnight Library of my own - to have access to change the course of my life by changing just one decision that I regret anywhere in the timeline of my life. Who would I be? What would my life have become? And therein lies the allure of this story - that it relates to all of us. Because who among us doesn't have a single regret? Who of us don't ever wonder if our life would have turned out differently if we changed just one choice we had made in our past?

This book absolutely blew my mind, and the story is one of those that's going to stick with me. I definitely see what all the hype is about. If you haven't checked this one out, give it a read (or a listen). It's worth it.

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