A review by acitygirlsthoughts
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books, Simon & Schuster, and Janet Skeslien Charles for choosing me to review this ARC in exchange for my honest review! 

I'm a huge fan of WWII historical fiction so I couldn't pass up this opportunity to review this! On top of that, I'm also an avid library user and supporter, so two of my favorite topics in one book? Yes! I enjoyed Janet's exploration of the different employees who worked at the American Library in Paris, their quirks, and Odile's (the protagonist's) all-conuming love for her work and friends at the American Library in Paris. Told in alternating point-of-views: Lily, an ambitious, lovable, and curious teen who's Odlie's neighbor in 1980's Montana, USA, and Odile herself. 

Lily's growth from her middle school to high school years are influenced by Odile's wisdom as she helps Lily navigate adolesence through her mistakes she made as a teen herself. Although she didn't experience the brunt of WWII, her run-ins with the Nazis on-the-job shaped her morals and ethics as she dealt with secret spies for the Nazis, anti-semitism, and her friend's questionable loyalty to the Allies. Assumptions and hesitation led to some hiccups in her relationships but she used those lessons to teach Lily how to deal with situations similar to her's, such as jealousy. The writing isn't hard to follow; there's a few typos at the beginning but other than that it's fine. 

Odile, Lily, Odile's family, Felix (Odile's boyfriend), Mary Louise, Odile's second husband, and the residents of Montana are the only fictional characters in this story, but just because they're fictional doesn't mean I agree with their justifications as a teachable moment. For example - this will be a spoiler but its worth mentioning - Odile tricks her husband into thinking she's single when she's currently married to Felix, all because Felix beat up her friend over her (friend's) affair with a Nazi. There's also an emotional disconnect between the reader and Odile's WWII story. Yes, she's probably blessed to have escaped a lot of violence and gore under the Nazis, but I didn't feel the thriller-esque feel promised, even when she physically ran into them twice. But other than that it's a great story. 

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