CW (for the following review) mentions of depression and suicide

The Midnight Library follows Nora Seed in the moments after her suicide attempt, as she finds herself in an infinite library of all the other possible lives she could have led, with the opportunity to lead them, if only for a while. It wrestles with themes of regret, potential, and hope. It tells its story well, unafraid of short chapters interspersed with occasional song lyrics and Facebook posts.

Things The Midnight Library is: hopeful, warm, predictable

Things The Midnight Library isn't: overwhelmingly profound, overbearing

I enjoyed the character growth. I enjoyed the worldbuilding. Nothing stood out to me as particularly mind-bending or life-changing, but watching Nora learn to live made me want to do so, too. The mix of supernatural and scientific was fun for this amateur physicist. The ending was sweet and expected, but done well. 

The thing I liked least, weirdly enough, was the representation of depression. Despite Haig's clear effort, and near success, in representing the nuance of mental illness, there were a couple of moments that almost felt like Nora was magically "all better," or was going to be - often an unhelpful goal when you're struggling with your brain. That said, it's clear that Haig is writing from a place of experience, and while I've my fair share of mental health issues, I'm lucky enough to not really know what I'm talking about when it comes to this one. 

Overall, I did really like the book. I would recommend it to anyone who feels ready to read a whole book about a suicide attempt - a whimsical, thoughtful, not-so-depressing one, but still. It was a good book to ring in a new year, and I'm glad to have read it.