The Library - Bella Osborne - ★★★.¾

AUTHOR: Bella Osborne

GENRE: Contemporary Drama.

RATING: 3.75 stars.

We all judge a book by its cover. (Don’t deny it!) We also judge books by their titles at times. So if you see this book, you will certainly go for it because it is about the magical place we all love: the library. But does the content do justice to this title and cover? Not exactly.

Story:

Tom Harris. Sixteen. Dead mom. Drunk dad. Bullied at school. Lonely. Discovers that he enjoys reading romance novels, much to his embarrassment.

Maggie Mann. Seventy-two. Widowed. Lives on a farm with her animals and her garden. Lonely. Discovers that her weekly book club at the library is a wonderful opportunity to find interaction with other bookworms.

The common factor? Loneliness.

These dear characters develop a beautiful friendship with each other courtesy their beloved local library. And when they find that the future of the library is at stake, they decide to go all out to save it.

There are many things I loved about the book, and many that I wish were different.

Characters:

No complaints here. I loved the bond between Tom and Maggie, so unconditional, so unexpected, so adorable! Maggie especially is unlike any other geriatric character I have seen in novels. I’d love to meet someone like her in real life. She steals the show in this story.

Writing style:

The story is told to us in alternating perspectives of Tom and Maggie. This gives an equal focus to both these lovely characters who are sure to make their mark on your heart. My old regret is that the author chose to write Tom in first person and Maggie in third person. Alternating between the voices again and again is tedious and too abrupt at times. The book would have flowed much better for me had both the characters been voiced the same way, whether first or third.

Pace:

The pace of the story is slow at the start but it soon starts picking up, building to a lovely finale with all ends neatly tied together. If you want a book that is quick and smooth right from the word ‘go’, this won’t work for you. I was ok with the leisurely unfolding of the plot because having a senior character in the main role automatically makes my mind expect an unhurried story. :D

Title:

The titular library does have an important role to play in the book but it is not the central focus point of the book. Instead, the story focusses more on the personal lives of Tom and Maggie, and even the people in the village where they all reside. I think the title creates different sort of expectations in your head, and when the book doesn’t match up to them, you feel let down, even though the book does its job pretty well. I must say, I loved all the book references scattered throughout the story. (Thankfully, I’ve read most of them and have the rest in my TBR. Else, this book would have made a big dent in my reading plans!)

Theme:

This is where the book goes overboard in its sincerity. Senior citizen problems, loneliness, alcoholism, environmental awareness, bullying, school crushes, exam pressures, parental pressures, parental abuse, healthy eating, yoga for fitness, importance of reading and libraries, … There are so many topics the book tries to raise awareness on that the final product dilutes the importance of most of these except for alcoholism and libraries.

Bella Osborne is known for her chick-lit novels. So this is a slightly different reading experience for her fans. But the characters she creates are as good-natured and heart-warming as in her usual genre. If only she had reduced the number of issues she tries to cover within this single book, it would have worked even better.

Overall, this was a good reading experience, though it could have worked even better had I not gone in expecting something else. The story is sweet and the main characters are loveable. And that makes up for the other shortcomings to a great extent.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.