Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - The Midnight Library

I appreciated being inspired to think at length about the ideas put forward by the book more than I was necessarily bowled over by the book itself, but I think for a book like this at a moment in time like the cultural moment that we were all experiencing, that is exactly what it feels like the author set out to do. That's all it's asking of you.

I liked that the vignettes were short and sweet, bite sized experiences like dipping your head into one of the pools in the in-between place from The Magician's Nephew. It made the experience of reading it much more deliberately pace-able and I was able to take it around with me, reading while traveling, ruminating on the discoveries the character makes in each new life she visits and reflecting on my own life. There really was a lot of value in the conclusions I drew from those reflections and the conversations I had with loved ones that grew out of those lines of inquiry.

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mapbutch's review against another edition

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2.5

I quite enjoyed the first half of this book. Cool concept and I liked the ways it got me thinking about my own life and choices. The protagonist was well developed as flawed but trying her best, which I appreciated.

The last third of the book, however, lost me.

I hated that the "perfect life" was depicted as being a wife and mother, without any other aspect of that life being given attention or meaning. I imagine the author's intent in having her leave that life was to say that life wasn't perfect, but we didn'tactually see any way she was dissatisfied with it so it didn't work for me.

The resulting ending felt trite and moralistic, and it had me rolling my eyes. YMMV, of course.

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lolasbooks12's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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emseejay's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This was not for me. I almost DNF’d but I got halfway because it was recommended to me. It got a bit better in the middle. Overall I thought it was predictable, I figured out the end as soon as she got to the library. I didn’t love Nora as a character. It was an easy read but overall don’t recommend.

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amelierawr's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

great book, very hopeful and it made me emotional.
But I have one big issue regarding her mental health. All of the problems the MC had in her life up to the point of her suicide attempt disappeared, simply because she found her will to live. I find that to be a very shallow view on mental health and it rubbed me the wrong way.
I would've hoped for a more dialled down ending- hopeful all the same- but with her overcoming her parts of her depression over a span of time after having found herself and her will to live.

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