A review by clovetra
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • 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

wowowowow what a cute book!!!! i loved the cosy yet hopeful vibe this book had!!! ugh i understand why people love this so much. i want to just say the reason my rating is so “low” is simply because;
a) the book gets a bit formulaic at times - person’s life is doodoo, they go to the library, their life is a bit less doodoo solely by chance
b) these people’s lives are getting “better” often in abstract ways, or the changes literally happen at the drop of a dime. i would’ve preferred to see their progression be a bit more slow, even with chapters ending with less clear endings but still seem realistic (i get this is a magical realism book + it’s only like ~250 pages for so im asking a lot here but hey im being honest about my experience).
i will say i do like how there were individual chapters following 5 people in very different situations. i will also say i love how each story is connected, whether that be just simply because they all visit the library & were disillusioned with life prior to visiting, or in more significant ways such as characters reoccurring. i think its best for me to talk about my thoughts with each chapter, so here i go
chapter 1 (tomoka): i really liked this story! it was a nice chapter to ease me into this book. it’s also quite relatable seeing as i’m also a uni student, i get not liking part-time random retail jobs 💀 the ending was really cute though, and honestly i felt her chapter to be the most “believable”
chapter 2 (ryo): i’ll be candid, this was probably my second-least favourite chapter. i found ryo as a character to be a bit of a shithead because of how he is with his gf, but idk him visiting a cat cafe was very cute vibes. i wanted to visit a cat cafe whilst reading about a cat cafe. pretty mid imo
chapter 3 (natsumi): i liked this a lot! i enjoyed the theme of misogyny in the workplace + the commentary of being a working mother. the ending was really sweet as well! i would say this is probably my fav chapter!!!
chapter 4 (hiroya): easily least fav chapter, simply because sometimes i feel like him 💀💀 granted im at uni so im not a NEET but idk reading about him was a look in the mirror i did not like! i did think the ending was cute and honestly has kinda motivated me to look for a job at a bookstore? thanks for that hiroya ig
chapter 5 (masao): this chapter felt redundant to me. like we just had hiroya explaining life without a purpose because of not having a job….. and these chapters are back to back. i will say this story felt stronger simply because masao wasn’t a whiny baby (looking at u hiroya) but it felt repetitive with the themes!
overall this was a nice book! i sure had a fun time. sometimes i like my books to lack deeper meaning - if i don’t have to watch 3 youtube video essays to understand ur cozy book its a win for me. plus sometimes i just want to vibe not think whilst reading, and this book did that so well.
also shout out books within books i love this trope 🙏🙏
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