The Library Published by Head of Zeus on January 6, 2022 Source: Netgalley Arc
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 384
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Format: Ebook Arc
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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 72-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 realize 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?
Review
A contemporary story about the unlikely friendship between the young and the old and a fight for dreams, a library, and embracing life. From the first page to the last, I was engaged in this story about a teenage boy who feels awkward and out of place in his life and an older lady who knows how to survive but knows loss as well. Some tough subjects are broached in this book, abuse, death, alcoholism, political strife, but all these things make for an awe-inspiring story that will leave you wondering are you living your dreams. I rarely read contemporary fiction as it sometimes feels like it is all cookie cutter and follows the same type of formula. Still, this one stood out because it had characters I felt for, a community I would love to fight for a library with, and places I like to see in real life. Also, it brings to the forefront just how important things like the library are and how easily we can take for granted that they will always be there.
About Bella Osborne
Bella has been jotting down stories as far back as she can remember but decided that 2013 would be the year that she finished a full length novel.
In 2016, her debut novel, ‘It Started At Sunset Cottage’, was shortlisted for the Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year and RNA Joan Hessayon New Writers Award.
Bella’s stories are about friendship, love and coping with what life throws at you. She likes to find the humour in the darker moments of life and weaves these into her stories. Her novels are often serialised in four parts ahead of the full book publication.
Bella believes that writing your own story really is the best fun ever, closely followed by talking, eating chocolate, drinking fizz and planning holidays.
She lives in The Midlands, UK with her lovely husband and wonderful daughter, who thankfully, both accept her as she is (with mad morning hair and a penchant for skipping).
