A review by silver_valkyrie_reads
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • 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

3.5

I think this book is judged far too harshly when people say it's 'pro suicide'. I can see how the 'what if' idea at the heart of it could be unhelpful and unhealthy for people in certain dark mental places to contemplate, and readers should be appropriately warned, but it's clearly intended as a celebration of life and a demonstration that regretting your life choices may be misguided.

That said, the secondhand embarrassment with a book that's almost entirely about a version of body switching is so real. It's handled lightly enough to be much better than it could be, but there are some unavoidably cringy moments that make it a lot less fun to read. 

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