The Midnight Library
Warning - this book contains mature themes (suicide, drugs, death) and can trigger some.
“Every life contains many millions of decisions. Some big, some small”
Wow. Between life and death, there is a library. Can you imagine? This book revolves around Nora who, after giving up entirely on life, decides to commit suicide and finds herself not at death’s door but a library. A library of possibilities. A library of what-ifs. A library of second chances.
There are many things in life I wonder about. Such as, what if I majored in French instead of biology? What if I said yes to that teaching job? Or, what if I moved to another country just because? The Midnight Library allows Nora to explore those possibilities and live the life she thinks she has always wanted. But, as Nora learns the grass is not always greener on the other side, she must also decide whether a life for herself is worth living at all.
I’ll be honest; Nora did not completely sell me at first. She let life pass by giving up on moments when she could have seized them. Although most lives Nora gets to revisit that she regrets end up not being all it’s cracked up to be, we know that not every decision we miss out on is always for the best. There are probably some great lives Nora missed out on because she made no decisions. However, Matt Heig does a great job of really pulling out Nora’s process of evaluating why she did not make a decision and what she would be doing if she were in that decision. Her fears and insecurities are her own, and she recognizes and learns from them throughout the story. I won’t spoil the ending, but I will say I am happy with the turnout because we see character development in Nora and growth from her reflections.
This was my first read by Matt Heig, and I enjoyed the ride. I am looking forward to exploring more of his works. I would recommend this book to others (please note the trigger warning) as it is a different story, but I found myself learning right along with the character.
