Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

378 reviews

lizbeththesimp's review against another edition

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reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25


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emmaanderbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-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

2.75


Maybe I’m not the target audience for this book, so keep that in mind, but the symbolism was just a bit too basic and wishy washy for my liking. I felt as though I knew where each chapter was going and it was, at times, laborious to push through. I would have appreciated the opportunity to get to know the side characters more, rather than flitting around her “other” lives to see what could have been and what, ultimately, was not going to work for her. I know that wasn’t the point of this novel, but I just think it would have been richer for it had we been given the opportunity to experience the love she clearly had for her family and friends. Lastly, I feel the ending was painfully cliche, rushed, and tied up with a neat little bow. I understand why it was finished this way; however, it just wasn’t “it”, for me. 

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daisymoffit's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

An intriguing and well executed novel, The Midnight Library solidifies itself as a book I know I'll often think back to. A lovely combo of captivating fiction and inspiring, motivational fuel. I love a book that leaves me wanting to get up and do something after I finish it. Would recommend to anyone

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breewriteback's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this book surprised me. it isn’t the type of book i would normally pick up, but i saw it at the library and decided to give it a shot. i’m glad i did.

i really enjoyed the idea of the story and how it was executed. it focused on topics that are heavier than what i usually read, but it made for an enlightening reading experience. seeing how much little changes and regrets could influence so much of what our lives are like was very interesting (and has only sent me into a minor existential crisis).

my one complaint would be how nonchalant the protagonist was at certain points in the book. because for how much we were reminded that nora has really bad stage fright, she seemed pretty chill whenever she had to talk to large groups of people, which just irked me. it made her character seem a bit unrealistic.

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jenniferbowman's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

JUST finished this book, and my inclination is to go with a 2.5/5 rating. Beginning the book, I expected it would be 4 stars, but as the story went on, the premise of the story wandered back and forth from “who would you be?” scenarios to long discussions about string theory. I could have done without all of the scientific explanation, and would have welcomed more of a magical realism acceptance of what was happening.

I was also a little off-put by the fact that a male author wrote a female protagonist…it wasn’t always obvious, but I feel like the characters lacked depth and I wonder if that might have been why.

In the end, I think this is probably more of a 3 star read, but the fact that I couldn’t wait for the book to end and ended up zoning out in the second half so often led me to enjoy the book much less overall than I expected.

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eedle_cacleberry's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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

3.5


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bagel_bites's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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lcc_xx's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This would be a great book for someone to get back into reading or out of slump. Very easy/quick read, with simple language. I like the meaning/message that is being communicated to the reader throughout the story. I could see this book having a great movie adaptation someday.

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lambclown's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

honestly this was pretty comforting to listen to, as someone who struggles with constant regret over what "could have been", and s*icidal ideation. some parts were a bit cliche and corny, but i deserve to indulge in a mainstream feel-good book from time to time!

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allison_j's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I always love a good multiverse story. BUT, I am very picky with them. With Midnight Library I felt like it did the multiverse magical realism balance really well. I really enjoyed how the ending turned out, and instead of aiming for perfection the MC instead embraced the uniqueness that stemmed from her root life. There were a few things that I felt left with me with more questions than answers-- namely Hugo and his addition to the story. But overall I found this story really enjoyable without being over-the-top.

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