The Midnight Library in Crazy Challenge Connection

Jan 02, 2021 Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, fantastic-heroine, fantasy, stand-alone, e-book, all-of-the-feels, adult, 2021, read-on-my-kindle, 4-stars

“You don’t have to understand life. You just have to live it.”

4 stars. This book hit me like a ton of bricks. Such a beautiful and emotional read. I will admit it started off rough for me in the beginning and I wasn’t entirely sure if I was going to enjoy it or not. It’s one of those reads that just sneaks up on you the more you read it.

I really liked the concept of there being a library between life and death that leads you to parallel universes of your life. That was really cool and well ...more

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Jun 28, 2022 Michelle rated it did not like it

Shelves: dnf

This is the second book by this author that I have tried to read and DNF. For some reason his writing bores the crap out of me with characters that I don't give a shit about. I've had more excitement being stuck in a traffic jam around DC. Nora is pretentious and whiny. Other readers have mentioned that this reads like a self help book and there is nothing I hate more than a self help book. I mean if that's your jam, go for it. You will probably love this. I am done trying with this author. We j ...more

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Mar 27, 2023 Lali & Michelle rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Midnight Library is like a cross between It's a Wonderful Life and Everything Everywhere All at Once, except not nearly as interesting as either one. I was looking for a book to recommend to my book club, one that was a little lighter than the ones we had been reading, and thought this would have a more uplifting, positive message. When I was checking out at the bookstore, the cashier said she had enjoyed it and that it wasn't sad. So when I started reading and the book begins with "Nineteen The Midnight Library is like a cross between It's a Wonderful Life and Everything Everywhere All at Once, except not nearly as interesting as either one. I was looking for a book to recommend to my book club, one that was a little lighter than the ones we had been reading, and thought this would have a more uplifting, positive message. When I was checking out at the bookstore, the cashier said she had enjoyed it and that it wasn't sad. So when I started reading and the book begins with "Nineteen years before Nora Seed decided to die ...," I was disappointed. (I did not recommend this to my club.). In the first few chapters, Nora loses her job and her cat, is estranged from her brother and best friend, and when her neighbor tells her she doesn't need to pick up his medicine anymore, she decides to kill herself. A bottle of pills later, she finds herself in a library. The librarian--the librarian from Nora's elementary school--informs her that each of the millions of books in the library is another possible life she could have had if she had made different choices.

So Nora tries out hundreds of different lives and discovers that some were better and some worse than her "root" life. In many of these lives, Nora is more outwardly successful, but realizes outward success doesn't equate with happiness--a married owner of a pub with a husband who cheats, an Olympic gold medalist but her mother died even earlier, a famous rock singer but her brother committed suicide, etc. The implication seems to be that Nora kept all these things from happening, but there is no explanation of how. Just by being there. Nora realizes that the most important thing is to know there are always other choices and you can always choose to live a happier life. And it confused me how on one hand Nora could control her own destiny, but everyone else's destiny seemed inextricably linked to the choices SHE made. The message of the book seems very facile and I think if someone with depression read it, it could make them even more depressed. And I really disliked the fact that her last name was "Seed." I guess that's because she is a seed from which anything can grow. Not for me. ...more

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Jan 27, 2022 Allysa rated it it was ok

I can definitely see how this book and Nora's life/struggles would resonate with a lot of readers, and I love the concept of this story - being caught in a library between life and death with an opportunity to try on other versions of your life - but I just wasn't able to empathize with or invest in Nora as a character. ...more

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