Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Kirjasto sodan keskellä

Things I liked:
- Found family trope and the cast of characters were easy to connect with.
- Multiple POV
- The examination of grief and it's crossover/resonance to today.
- The bookish theme was spot of and carried throughout very well
- The authors note and bookclub discussion on extended context of the wartime library the book was based on.

Things that were a miss for me:
- Past/present setting and the ending was 'wrapped up' in a bow.
- Multiple relationship tropes to follow.
- The time period & language (this is always a miss for me and part of why historical fiction is not usually my go-to.
- Predictability of plot

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lorialdenholuta's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

During the Second World War, many British citizens took shelter underground where the bombs couldn’t reach them. They would sometimes wrap an extra layer of protection around their hearts and minds by escaping into good books.

The Little Wartime Library gives readers a chance to understand the power of comfort-reading. It’s a book that’s difficult to set aside once you bond with the characters you’ll meet within the pages. The story reveals itself best when read while snuggled into your safest, coziest corner, preferably with blankets and tea (or gin).

Knowing that this fictional story is heavily based on the very real history of a tiny, makeshift library hidden away as part of a secret village that’s coalesced inside a tube tunnel deep underground in London’s East End makes it all so much more meaningful, and a little bit more magical.

The reader becomes a time traveler. It’s impossible to feel as if you’re passively reading a story about fictional characters. I stayed up hours past my usual bedtime more than once, simply because I had left my own home, crossed the pond, and escaped to the Bethnal Green tube station. I needed to know if my new friends were going to be okay, and certainly couldn’t leave them hanging in the midst of one of the many adventures or situations they get into. I cared about them all. (Okay, I absolutely loathed two of them, but trust me, you will too. And for good reason!)

Author Kate Thompson is a masterful storyteller who took the time to do the work before setting pen to paper. Her research pays off with a story that’s already a classic, as far as I’m concerned.

If you are curious about how ordinary people got by during the war, you’ll gain so much insight. If you’re a bookworm who likes seeing librarians get the spotlight, dive in! If you aren’t sure if this book is for you, just check to see if you have a heartbeat. Yes? Great, it’s for you, too.

There’s a bonus in the back of the book that feels like a ‘making of’ movie featurette. This extensive section will delight book clubs, along with anyone interested in behind the scenes photos and explanations about the events, people, and places that inspired this story.

My only regret is that various online systems won’t allow me to give this book higher than 5 stars.

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utopiastateofmind's review against another edition

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4.0

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

The Little Wartime Library is a book that moved me on a variety of levels. Firstly, the sexism Clara and the women in this book have to endure is heart wrenching. This historical fiction book takes us back to a time - or maybe not even so far - when the sexism against women's literary taste and their 'expected behavior' was incredibly conservative. Conversations about what they should be reading and what 'bad ideas' they were reading about in books - like emancipation, agency, and pleasure.

My blood was boiling on an almost daily basis as Clara fought not only for women's right to reading, but also to the education of children. Additionally, the literary elitism and classicism from the antagonists in the book was another source of rage. How clearly it tried to use books or the access to books against the poor. To not see the ability of reading for transformation, dreams, and ambition all the way to pleasure, enjoyment, and escapism.

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