The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

"But once you sense that vastness, once something reveals it, hope emerges, whether you want it to or not, and it clings to you as stubbornly as lichen clings to rock."

This is the story of Nora Seed, who is unbelievably depressed. After trying to commit suicide, she winds up at the Midnight Library where there are an infinite number of books filled with an infinite number of possibilities. Each book contains a life for Nora based on the decisions she could have made but didn't. The librarian tells her she can take each one for a test drive, and when she finds the life that makes her happy, she can stay there.

When this book came out there was almost nothing else in my Good Reads newsfeed. I normally don't pay too much attention to over-hyped books, but this one caught my eye.

I'm going to start by saying I liked how realistic Matt Haig was with Nora's depression. As someone who has had it, it does feel a lot like being a failure at everything, it feels lonely and unloved. It's a terrible way to feel, and although I never tried to kill myself, I could certainly understand why people did and that is a scary thing to come to understand.

I thought the characters were pretty well fleshed out, considering each parallel universe was drastically different than the last and I loved how there was no end to the universes that MH could dream up for Nora. I like that he included a strong and very visible "the grass isn't always greener..." motif in a time where most authors can't be bothered add a motif at all.

While the story was designed to be light and uplifting, and it certainly was, I found it to be a little too corny for me. There was a couple of pages where Nora tried to give a motivational speech, and I did something I have never done in all my life: I flipped the pages without reading them. My limited emotional range couldn't handle the cheese, lol.

I had mixed feelings on the ending. I always prefer a happy one over a sad one, and this book delivered a happy one. But given the motif, you know ahead of time how it's going to end and I don't really care much for predictability. I do wish the author had pushed himself a little harder to design an ending that was as surprising as it was happy.

Overall, I thought it was a really well written story. It's a light and entertaining read, perfect for those looking to add a little hope to their lives.