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m4ggieok's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
gabbynasty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Grief, Addiction, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Self harm
anj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Animal death, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment, Stalking, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Cancer, Infidelity, and Self harm
alliejm00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, and Vomit
Minor: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, and Toxic friendship
thecandiegirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Grief, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Self harm, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
caitsousa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Self harm
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
avacronin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book imagines that between life and death there is a library, as it appears for Nora, that allows you the opportunity to try a life that you could have lived, if you had made a different decision in the past. It allows you to undo your regrets of a missed choice, however good or bad it could have turned out. As somebody who has been interested in The String Theory and the theory of parallel universes, I thought this book provided a interesting view on how this could appear.
The Pros
- I found this book both interesting and easy to read. The chapters are fairly short, and none of the story line was dragged out unnecessarily. Because the story was changing often with the changing of lives, it never felt boring and the book had my full attention throughout its entirety.
- Matt Haig expertly deals with the topic of regret in a way that doesn't feel forced or fake. Through Nora, he shows that life can be full of regrets, which ultimately can lead to life becoming a task, rather than something to enjoy (possible trigger warning). However, through the library, he conveys the message that not all regrets should be lingered on, as you can never accurately predict how your life will turn out.
"But it is not lives we regret not living that are the real problem. It is the regret itself."
The Cons
- The only con that springs to mind is that I wish some of the lives lasted longer. I understand that some had to be longer than others in order to avoid losing interest or becoming too repetitive, however, I would have liked for some of Nora's lives to have been able to develop more and have more of an impact.
This book is truly a pleasant read. It does feature some possibly sensitive topics, however I felt these are all dealt with in a proper way. Overall, The Midnight Library was insightful and had great impact, and has inspired many philosophical thoughts about the afterlife in my mind.
Moderate: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Suicide
gaillypoo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Mental illness, Cancer, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Car accident, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit, Addiction, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Mental illness, Stalking, and Medical content
stephmcoakley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Death, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Self harm
ash_bees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Reminiscent of the movie "It's A Wonderful Life," except instead of only experiencing one alternative, the protagonist experiences many. It does get a bit preachy, but so did "It's A Wonderful Life."
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Death of parent, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Vomit, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship