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Saturday, September 9, 2023

The Library by Bella Osborne

 


The Library is the story of an unexpected friendship between two very different people. Tom is a lonely teen who feels invisible. His mum is dead and his dad is an alcoholic. Tom struggles to talk to people, especially girls. Then he gets the idea that maybe reading a few romances will help him with that. So he heads to the small village library. And there he meets Maggie. She's a pensioner in her 70s, and she loves to talk to people. But living alone on her small farm gets lonely. Her Saturday trips to the library for her book club is the highlight of her week. And when she starts to talk about books and life with Tom, she realizes, "She'd found a kindred spirit in the most unlikely place and she was going to hang onto him as if her life depended on it."

This is such a delightful read! I loved Tom and Maggie, and how Maggie becomes the family Tom needed so much. His surreptitious reading of romances made me laugh, while his struggles with his dad felt heartbreakingly real and so poignant. This book definitely has all the feels. Maggie's rallying the community to save their library from being shut down did feel very familiar and predictable, but everything else about this book was so good, I didn't mind the lack of surprises at the end. This is another 4-star read for Susan's Bookish Books Reading Challenge.

Happy Reading!

Similar books (that I also loved):

47 comments:

  1. So pleased you liked this one as much as I did. It was a feel-good novel but with a good dose of reality. I must read more by the author, although I gather this was a bit of a departure from her usual output.

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    1. I did really love this one! Tom is such a great character...so awkward at times, yet so kind, too. :D

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    1. It's a really heartwarming and feel good kind of book, which I always appreciate. Plus, there are books in it!

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  3. This does sound like the kind of thing that perhaps I need to read at just this moment. Thanks for the review.

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    1. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It's a little predictable, but I loved the characters and the humor and heart of it.

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  4. This sounds like a really wonderful story. Great review, Lark! :)

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    1. The characters are so great...and I loved the found family aspect of this one. :D

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  5. We all, I think, need a well written feel-good novel every so often to remind us that the real world may not be as awful as we imagine it to be. Sounds like this one fits that bill.

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    1. It does. And you're right, feel good books in this day and age are certainly needed. At least I really need them. :D

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  6. Nice! I do think it sounds fun him reading those romances surreptitiously. How fun!

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    1. It was pretty funny; it also made me laugh when Maggie tricked him into admitting the truth about it.

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  7. Oh when you mentioned the saving the library part of course I started thinking about the Freya Sampson book! This sounds so sweet and I can't resist so I'm adding it to my list!

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    1. I liked this one as much as the Freya Sampson book. And you're right; they are very similar in feel.

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  8. Guys reading romances would make me laugh too. Not sure it could be done, lol.

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    1. It's funny how he gets started on them. And I loved that he liked the first batch enough to go back for more.

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  9. I love the sound of this! It reminds me a bit of The Reading List. I will have to add this to my wish list.

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    1. There is a lot of similarities between this one and The Reading List!

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  10. This looks wonderful! I look books that involve unlikely friendships - especially when it involves multiple generations. Adding to my TBR.

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    1. I love reading about unlikely friendships like this one!

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  11. This sounds wonderful! I love that it's about these two people bonding over their love of books.

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    1. That's the best part of this book. The friendship Maggie and Tom develop is so great. I love found family tropes. :D

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  12. I always love a heartwarming tale of an unlikely friendship and the power of books to connect people. Tom and Maggie's characters sound endearing, and the emotional depth of the story shines through.

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    1. I love the way Maggie became so important in Tom's life and helped him out when he and his dad's relationship imploded.

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    1. Thanks. It's easy to write about a really good book like this. :D

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    1. It is very sweet...and very heartwarming. And it made me laugh, too.

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  15. I already want to give Tom a hug! I love the sound of the friendship that forms between he and Maggie.

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    1. Tom is definitely a character that tugs at your heart!

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  16. This does sound lovely! You're nailing your Bookish Challenge! I think I need to read a few more. I haven't checked lately, lol. :)

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    1. I was going to read The Blackout Book Club this month, too, but I just wasn't in the right mood when I started it, so I ended up taking it back to the library unfinished. I still have 4-5 other bookish books on my list that I want to try and read this year. It's been a fun reading challenge. :D

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  17. This one is new to me and I love that it sounds like such a feel good read. Great review!

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    1. It is a feel good book. You can totally see where it's headed, but it's such an enjoyable ride I didn't even mind.

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  18. This sounds good and a heartwarming read, too. Will keep this book in mind should the right mood call for it. :)

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    1. Do. It's worth reading. And it'll make you smile.

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  19. This book sounds so sweet! I hadn't heard of it before, but now I HAVE to read it. Thanks for the heads-up!

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    1. I think you would really like these characters. And the book is so fun, if a little predictable. :D

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  20. I already had a note to myself to get this in ebook format, I am glad I found this post and was reminded to do that. Now I just have to remember it is there to read.

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  21. Nice review! I'll have to keep this book in mind, based on the way you described the characters.

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    1. It's a good one...definitely one that'll make you smile.

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