Despite the very mixed reviews this book has received, I still wanted to pick it up since I really appreciated Matt Haig's Reasons to Stay Alive. The Midnight Library left me feeling somewhat disappointed although I think I might just appreciate Haig's writing in non-fiction more than fiction.

This had a very strong beginning and I really thought I was going to love the rest of the story simply because I related with the main character so much. But as the story progressed, I found myself finding a number of things I didn't particularly like. Some lines of dialogue were too lengthy and preachy, certain scenes didn't feel realistic, the depth of explanation for the rules of the library felt unnecessary, and I found myself being frustrated with the main character more and more.

Despite all my complaints, there are a couple of scenes towards the end that redeemed the book somewhat for me. They were quite moving and I would have highlighted them had I cared a lot more about the story. That said, I might have liked this book more had it been reduced to a short story that was more straightforwardly literary fiction instead of this—in my opinion—very middling attempt at fabulism.