the library by Bella Osborne

69th book of 2021

Release date: September 02nd 2021 (e-book) and January 06th 2022 (paperback)

Thanks to NetGalley, Aria & Aries to send me a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own

Reading period:

Summary

An unlikely friendship forms between a sixteen-year-old boy and a seventy-two-year-old woman as they rally the community to save their local library.

Tom is invisible. He happily blends into the background of life. But Farah Shah changes everything. Farah makes Tom want to stand up and be seen – at least by her. So Tom quickly decides the best way to learn about women is to delve into romance novels, and he finds himself at the village library where he befriends seventy-two-year-old, Maggie.

Maggie has been happily alone for ten years, at least this is what she tells herself. When Tom comes to her rescue after a library meeting, never did she imagine a friendship that could change her life. As Maggie helps Tom navigate the best way to ask out Farrah, Tom helps Maggie realise the mistakes of her past won’t define her future.

But when the library comes under threat of closure, it’s up to Tom and Maggie to rally the community and save the library!

Will these two unlikely friends be able to bring everyone together and save their library?

Rating

Review

This book is character-driven, and the two main characters are appealing in their own ways.

First, you have Tom, a teenager who struggles in his life. He starts going back to the library for a funny reason but starts to be a granny’s friend.

Then we have Maggie, an older woman who loves fighting for causes and has many skills and a farm. Also, she had some secrets that you will unravel during your reading.

I love the bond that is developed between those two characters. It’s a mix between a friendship and a family relation. The relation has a broader purpose as it helps both of them to evolve. The exchange they have is essential as you feel like they need it.

The library problem is just an excuse for the friendship to thrive, and it also shows that books can bring different people together. However, I wasn’t bothered by the light appearance of the library problem as I wanted to know more about Tom and Maggie.

This book was uplifting, and I didn’t want to leave Tom and Maggie.

Liz.