Scan barcode
pebabmey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Stalking, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
chikyo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
sarabrogan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
daisymoffit's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
birdieex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
ank3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Vomit, Stalking, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal cruelty
blackorchids's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, and Pregnancy
The entire book takes place after the main character tries to take her own life, so it’s a prevalent theme throughout.gabriella_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
avacronin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book imagines that between life and death there is a library, as it appears for Nora, that allows you the opportunity to try a life that you could have lived, if you had made a different decision in the past. It allows you to undo your regrets of a missed choice, however good or bad it could have turned out. As somebody who has been interested in The String Theory and the theory of parallel universes, I thought this book provided a interesting view on how this could appear.
The Pros
- I found this book both interesting and easy to read. The chapters are fairly short, and none of the story line was dragged out unnecessarily. Because the story was changing often with the changing of lives, it never felt boring and the book had my full attention throughout its entirety.
- Matt Haig expertly deals with the topic of regret in a way that doesn't feel forced or fake. Through Nora, he shows that life can be full of regrets, which ultimately can lead to life becoming a task, rather than something to enjoy (possible trigger warning). However, through the library, he conveys the message that not all regrets should be lingered on, as you can never accurately predict how your life will turn out.
"But it is not lives we regret not living that are the real problem. It is the regret itself."
The Cons
- The only con that springs to mind is that I wish some of the lives lasted longer. I understand that some had to be longer than others in order to avoid losing interest or becoming too repetitive, however, I would have liked for some of Nora's lives to have been able to develop more and have more of an impact.
This book is truly a pleasant read. It does feature some possibly sensitive topics, however I felt these are all dealt with in a proper way. Overall, The Midnight Library was insightful and had great impact, and has inspired many philosophical thoughts about the afterlife in my mind.
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
nick13's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Minor: Pregnancy