This is about the American Library in Paris and the courageous tasks performed secretly by a variety of staff and volunteers to keep the printed word circulated and preserved in the time of the Nazi regime in France. This book also shows how secrecy can tear apart loved ones and change lives forever. And it shows how friendship can stretch generations and know no bounds.

Resistance in a silent and unlikely place…the importance of books…

Thank you, #NetGalley @AtriaBooks for a complimentary e ARC of #TheParisLibrary upon my request in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Paris Library is a dual timeline story of family, friendship, resistance, romance, betrayal, heroism, bravery, and books. In 1939, idealistic, courageous, and ambitious Odile Souchet works at the American Library in Paris when the Nazis arrive. Odile and the other librarians negotiate to keep the library open so they can protect the books and also make secret deliveries to their Jewish patrons. In 1983, Lily, a lonely teenager living in Montana, befriends a mysterious and reclusive, elderly, French neighbor woman and discovers they have a great deal in common.

I love historical fiction that reveals the actions of brave, real-life heroes. The characters in this story represent the real-life individuals who risked their lives to save the books, to send books to soldiers, and to secretly provide reading material for Jewish patrons.

Dual Timelines: As is so often the case, one timeline is the more compelling in a story. For me, the past timeline was the most engaging and I was always eager to return to it.

In most WW11 stories, we discover powerful themes of resistance. It is amazing to hear about all the ways that every day citizens participated in resistance. …many report that simply staying alive was a satisfying form of resistance. In this story, librarians send books to soldiers, hide banned books, and secretly provide books for patrons who are forbidden from entering the library.

I feel the content of The Paris Library is well researched. In fact, the author worked at the American Library in Paris in 2019 and was able to speak with some members of a few families.

I would have liked even more content about what was going on in Paris during the WW11 years. Because of all my WW11 reading, I could fill in the blanks, but others new to the genre might benefit from the bigger picture.

Thoughtful themes include family loyalty and devotion, friendship, taking risks, resistance, and the love of books and literature. If you love books about books and librarians, you will love this!

Favorite Quote: “We’re Here.” She needed to convince them that the ALP must remain open. “Libraries are lungs,” she scrawled, her pen barely able to keep up with her idea. “Books the fresh air breathed in to keep the heart beating, to keep the brain imagining, to keep hope alive. Subscribers depend on us for news, for community. Soldiers need books, need to know their friends at the Library care. Our work is too important to stop now.”

I enthusiastically recommend The Paris Library for fans of well-told and engaging WW11 histfic, for readers who love books about books and librarians, and for book clubs.

This was such an interesting book! I didn’t know at all about the American Library in Paris and just a quick browsing through their website it just looks amazing! I would absolutely love to visit Paris now if just to see what this library is all about! But onto the actual story here, it’s split between two different points of view, with Odile during World War II and Lily in 1980s Montana. As we spend time with young Odile, and older Odile and Lily, we see how life kind of repeats itself over and over. That is part of the beauty of human life, that we are all relatively similar if we know where to look.

As Odile starts work at the American Library in Paris, she has just about everything that anyone else could ask for: her wonderful job, a handsome police beau, a family that loves her. Yet when the Nazis march into France and into Paris, she starts to realize that all that she loves and holds dear could be easily taken away from her. But she buckles down and fights with the only weapons she really has: books. We see her life through her eyes and feel the things that she is feeling. Odile wants to do what she can to support the Library and the subscribers that depend on the services therein. We see that Odile is a real character with real characters and emotions. I have felt a lot of her emotions and I can sympathize with a lot of them.

With Lily, I was transport back to being a teenage girl in a small town with only a few friends. I honestly didn’t really have many girl friends growing up, I hung out with books more than anyone else until about 10th grade in high school. Even then, my best friend turned into my boyfriend my senior year of high school. And I still turned to books in many ways. I sympathized with a lot of Lily’s feelings of being left behind by her friends, of trying to figure out if a boy liked me or not, and just trying to figure out what I wanted to do in college and plan for life after high school. Janet Skeslien Charles is excellent at catching and writing from both perspectives and one of the best things is how real it felt to learn things from Odile’s eyes towards the end of the war. Both her betrayal and the betrayal it lead to.

This book is really well written and while it may have gone through things at the American Library fairly quickly, it was a bit more about setting up the context for the echoes down the road that took place in Montana during Odile’s later years. I liked that what was going on during WWII in Odile’s younger years were reflected and echoed during Lily’s teenage years in Montana when Odile could advise Lily a bit. Lily was able to learn from Odile’s mistakes, and that’s something that we can take away from this book, that we can learn from the mistakes from others. Learn and learn and learn. Then learn some more. And make your own mistakes, which will suck, but then learn and help others to learn from your mistakes as well.

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles comes out tomorrow on February 9th and has been named a “Most Anticipated Book of the Year by Library Journal and Goodreads. As a lover of historical fiction this novel based on a true World War II story of how librarians saved the work of the American Library in Paris as Nazis took over the city enticed me to request an advance reading copy from Net Galley.

The book opens in February 1939 in Paris with Odile running Dewey Decimal numbers around in her head as she prepares to interview for a job in the library. She will get the job and discover kindred spirits in her fellow librarians and a strong spirit in its American woman head librarian. The patrons who find refuge in the library come to life with humor and human interest, and Dewey Decimal references will reappear throughout the book. Librarians and patrons live under the risk of no knowing whom they can trust.

The second chapter opens with Lily, a teenager in Froid, Montana in 1983 describing her next door neighbor, Mrs. Gustafson who is often called a “War Bride” by the neighbors. Lily’s curiosity is peaked with wondering how an old person without a husband can be called a “bride” and with wonder that a person who speaks two languages fluently rarely talks to anyone.

Chapters fluctuate between the two times but not in every other one fashion. The system is more like getting the reader to the edge of the seat and then switching to the other time period. As Lily’s nosiness discovers Odile Gustafson’s secret story, she finds a kindred spirit as well.

The book is spellbinding with the only weakness in the sections in the obligatory romance seemingly inserted to give it an adult rating.

The Paris Library tells the story of Odile, a librarian at the American Library in Paris during the occupation of France in World War II. It is a story about family, betrayal, loss/grief and self-sacrifice. The story wonderfully unfolds through two time lines, World War II and 1990s in the US where Odile's young neighbor gives her an unexpected chance at redemption and explores the theme of found family. Great read!

I LOVED this book. As a huge fan of historical fiction (and WWII specifically) I found this story, which was based on a true story, incredible.

The Paris Library is told from the perspective of two neighbors in a small town in Montana, Lily and Odile. Odile tells the story of her life as an employee at the American Library in Paris during the Nazi Occupation - and the things that she and her coworkers did to fight back again the Nazi Regime, using books. Lily, a lonely young girl who befriends Odile in the 80’s. Lily is fascinated by her neighbor, her past and the lessons that she can learn from the old lady. Odile wants to teach Lily that her actions can have long lasting consequences - forcing her to think about the choices that she makes.

Janet Skeslian Charles writes about the strength (and fragility) of our relationships. The extraordinary powers of quietly fighting back - and the lasting implications of the choices that we make.

Learning about the not-so-well known story of the American Library Heroes makes this book well worth reading!

Thank you to Netgalley, Janet Skeslian Charles and Atria Books for my Advanced Reader Copy.

This has easily become one of my top books of 2021. The Paris Library is the story of the American Library in Paris and the librarians who kept the library open during the upheaval and dangerous climate of WWII. Based upon a true story, it is a breathtaking, sweeping tale of love, loss, war, family, and perseverance in the midst of tragedy. Written in dual POV between Odile, a brave, young librarian at the ALP during WWII and Lily, a teenager in 1980's Montana, who lives next to Odile (as an older adult) many years after she left Paris. Odile and Lily become close in the most wonderful of ways, proving that love and family can be found at anytime in any situation. I absolutely adored this novel, and I hope you will too! In a nutshell: this librarian is a HUGE fan. ⁠

We all have a book that’s changed us forever, one that lets us know that we’re not alone.

I love books about books and reading and The Paris Library certainly delivered. Based on history, the Paris Library donated hundreds of books to different regiments fighting in World War II. And when the Nazis invaded France, many of the library's staff risked their lives to deliver books to Jews who were unable to leave their homes. In The Paris Library, we meet one such worker, Odile Souchet, whose passion is the library, its books and its eclectic clientele.

Told in dual timelines we meet Odile in the 1940s as well as teenager Lily, a lonely teenager living in a small rural town in Montana in 1983. Lily's mother has passed and life seems to have moved on for everyone but Lily. Until she meets Odile who shares Lily's passion for reading and language.

This was such an endearing story of love and loss as well as hope, courage, and forgiveness. Odile was a great character and I definitely enjoyed her story more than Lily's. But the two timelines flowed easily back and forth and Lily's relationship with Odile helps gradually reveal Odile's role in the Resistance and how she came to Montana. The writing was warm and beautiful, and Odile is such and endearing character. You can't help but feel her pain and appreciate her hard-won wisdom.

There were a couple places and people that felt incomplete to me, but overall it's a great story. I highly recommend this for any historical fiction lovers. And it has the added bonus of book references and libraries that any bibliophile will enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for my ARC of this lovely novel.

In my quest to read WWII-era books with perspectives that I have not read before, I was happy to read The Paris Library.

In 1939 Paris, the future looks bright for Odile Souchet. She has just been hired by the American Library in Paris and is now part of an exciting world of book lovers including librarians, writers, diplomats and intellectuals. But as the Nazis invade Paris, the world around her drastically changes. Not only are people being persecuted but there is a threat to her beloved library and its thousands of treasured books.

The story takes us to 1983 in Montana, a world far from Paris. Odile is now a lonely widow. She develops a close bond with Lily, a young teenager, who is facing many challenges including a dying mother. Lily is very smart and is intrigued by this mysterious old woman who is clearly hiding many secrets. Odile sees a lot of herself in Lily. Their relationship is endearing.

As much as this is a wartime tale, the elements of friendship, love and betrayal provide the main appeal.

While the story of Odile is fiction, many of the colorful characters from the American Library were real and exhibited great heroism in the face of the enemy showing their love for books. They managed to keep the Library open during the war and fearlessly brought books to Jewish members after the Nazis banned them from using the library.

The Paris Library was a little slow starting but the pace picked up providing an interesting, enjoyable and worthwhile read.

Many thanks to Atria Books, NetGalley and the author for an advance copy. A review will be posted on my blog closer to publication.

I’m a huge fan of WWII historical fiction and I’ve read a lot of it over the years. For that reason, I’m always on the lookout for books that bring a fresh perspective or a story that I haven’t heard yet, and that it exactly what Janet Skeslien Charles does with her new novel, The Paris Library. Based on a true story, The Paris Library shines a light on a part of the French Resistance movement that I was not familiar with, that of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris (ALP). While the Nazis occupied and terrorized their city, the men and women of the ALP risked everything to keep the library open at all costs, even sneaking books across Paris to their beloved Jewish patrons who were barred from entering the building. For these librarians and their book loving patrons, books were both an escape and a symbol of hope and so the librarians wanted to do their part to keep hope alive no matter how dark life seemed.

One of the things I enjoyed most about The Paris Library was how the story unfolded. We are presented with a dual timeline, one in the 1980s that follows Lily, an awkward and lonely high school student living in a small town in Montana. Lily becomes intrigued by her neighbor, an elderly woman named Odile who keeps to herself and has an air of mystery about her. All anyone really knows about her is that she’s originally from France. Lily decides she wants to get to know Odile better and so, under the guise that she’s doing a school project on Paris, she approaches Odile and requests to interview her. A lovely friendship develops over time between Lily and Odile, and it is through this interview that we are introduced to Odile and the second timeline, which reveals that as a young woman, Odile worked as a librarian at the ALP and was a very active member of the Resistance.

While I loved watching the relationship blossom between Lily and Odile because Odile becomes almost like a second mom to Lily, I was of course most drawn to the incredible story that takes place during WWII. The author had me fully invested in the lives of Odile and her fellow librarians. I loved how committed they were to their cause, as well as how devoted they were to each other and to their patrons. I never would have guessed that there was an actual Resistance movement within the walls of a library and was glued to the pages each time the librarians faced danger or the risk of betrayal since one never knew who might be a Nazi collaborator. Even though the WWII timeline was the most engaging of the two, the author still manages to make the 1980s timeline compelling in the sense that there is some mystery surrounding Odile and why she keeps to herself and why she has never returned to Paris, not even once, after all these years. I loved the scrappy and determined Odile of WWII so much that I really wanted to know what had happened to send her to live in isolation in Montana of all places.

The Paris Library is a beautiful story of friendship, family, resistance, and resilience. If you’re looking for a WWII historical fiction that brings something new to the table, I highly recommend The Paris Library.

Real people, real places, and real events make this story so informative and interesting. Written in two time periods (1940s WWII Paris and 1980s Montana) about the same woman, the novel explores friendship, lies, and secrets and the aftermath of jealousy. Interesting inclusions in the story were the Dewey decimal numbers of random subjects and actual letters to the Germans from French citizens about supposed infractions of their friends, family and neighbors.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

While the book world is flooded with WWII historical fiction, I really enjoyed the different perspective that this story had to offer. As a reader and library lover, I found it fascinating to see how libraries were affected by war. I also loved the different characters that called the American Library in Paris their home and became like family. Reading and a love of books really does bring people together and it was beautiful to see how much these people did to protect the library and it's books and patrons. I also really enjoyed Odile's character arc, because while I didn't particularly love the younger version of her (she came off as very naive and could be quite self-centered), I adored her character later in life as Lily's neighbor (dual timeline). I also loved Lily and Odile's relationship and how much they were able to learn from each other. Overall a very insightful and enjoyable read and I recommend it to all who enjoy historical fiction.

For the love of books and the love of historical fiction. The Paris Library is a story of the American Library in Paris and the heroic librarians who kept it open during WWII and who accommodated the delivery of books to the front line soldiers. And more than that, it’s a dual timeline story of jealousy and revenge and the sadness that the fallout bears.

Odile Souchet finds herself as a librarian at the ALP at the dawn of WWII. I loved Odile’s characterization of her library colleagues. I was swept up in the memorizing descriptions of the library and the feeling it imbued. The connection of readers, through the checkout cards bearing theirs and others names, shows that war can divide but literature can bring together. Through the characters stories we can see what effects a stressful environment such as war can have on people and their thoughts and actions.

And for the die hard bibliophiles, there are snippets of Their Eyes Were Watching God woven throughout, to which I immediately added this classic to my TBR.

If you’re a fan of stories of books & humanity and historical fiction, The Paris Library is absolutely perfect for your TBR!

What could be better for book lovers than a historical novel based on a library, one described in such a vivid way that you can imagine that you are there?

Paris (1939 - 1944) Odile Souchet has landed her dream job, working at the American Library in Paris. She loves books - touching them, reading them, talking about them, sharing them with others. She enjoys working with the customers, most of whom are there often, and the library staff, who become like a second family to her. She has a boyfriend that she loves and who loves her in return. Things would be wonderful if it weren't for the war and the fact that her beloved twin brother, Remy, is in it.

Through Odile's eyes, we see the ever-increasing presence of Nazi soldiers, and the repercussions this has on everyday life in Paris. Not only are supplies rationed, but new restrictions are imposed, and checkpoints to enforce them pop up everywhere. Odile finds herself joining the resistance and working with her fellow librarians against the orders of the Nazi's "Library Protector", the Bibliotheksschutz, who drops in to check on libraries to ensure that they only offered approved materials to appropriate (i.e. non-Jewish) customers. The directoress of the library, Miss Reed, wants to ensure that everyone still has access to books, so she and her staff begin to secretly take books to their Jewish customers who are no longer permitted to enter the library, send books to soldiers, hide banned books and safeguard others so that the Nazis don't destroy them. It was a risky undertaking.

Montana (1983 - 1989) - Lily is a lonely young teenager in a small town in Montana. She is intrigued by her reclusive next door neighbor Mrs. Gustafson (Odile) and uses a homework assignment as an opportunity to interview her. The two find that they are similar in many ways, and form a friendship and bond that soothes and strengthens them both. There are hard lessons that Lily must learn along the way in this coming of age storyline.

Ms. Charles alternates between the time periods and storylines with ease and her descriptive writing skills bring her complex characters and scenes to life, giving readers the feeling that they too know these people and places. I love that the library itself becomes a character.

A favorite phrase from the book "... why I read - to glimpse other lives."

A wonderful read with characters based on real people who felt that access to reading was so important that they risked their own safety to ensure it. There are quiet heroes among us now as well. Please look for them!

My sincere thanks and appreciation to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read a copy of this book, scheduled to be published 2/9/21. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A book about books and libraries, about the connections made between readers, and the importance of ethics, honesty and humility. This beautiful novel focused on the historic American Library of Paris during WWII, and the Nazi occupation of Paris. Odile, the other librarians and staff of the Library, and their patrons are placed in difficult situations, as restrictions and anti-semitism wreak havoc on their daily lives. An alternating timeline, focused on the late 1980s, sees young Lily engaging with the lonely French widow next door, trying to discover her secrets, as she deals with her own teenage difficulties.

The alternating timelines were done well in this story, and I appreciated the interaction between Odile and Lily, as they traverse many difficult issues. I found Lily’s story a bit repetitive, and felt it could have been shortened slightly. The author’s meticulous research is evident in every passage, and I loved her author’s note, detailing the real-life characters that she included throughout. A well-written, intriguing and engaging historical fiction. Recommend for lovers of literature and its power to unite people.

"French kiss. French toast. French fries. All the good things were French."

I 100% agree with this quote from The Paris Library, and would include this story of the French Resistance during WWII in that list. Although it's being released this week, I read the book last year and it was one of my favorites of 2020.

"I was skeptical about soul mates, but could believe in bookmates, two beings bound by a passion for reading."

Based on the true story of how a group of book lovers and the employees of the American Library in Paris worked to protect the treasures there as well as to subvert the Nazis, this novel alternates between two timelines and places - Paris in 1939 and Montana in 1983. I won't give too much away but Charles weaves two wonderful stories and, as you can probably tell from all of the lines I'm including in this review, her words truly touched me.

"Sometimes I like books more than people."

This isn't just a novel about it war and survival - its about family, friendships, coming-of-age, the consequences of our choices and finding comfort in words even when the world is falling apart. I read a lot of historical fiction about WWII and it was refreshing to find such a unique take on it, and I fell so in love with the characters that I didn't want the book to end.

"'Libraries are lungs,' she scrawled, her pen barely able to keep up with her ideas. 'Books the fresh air breathed in to keep the heart beating, to keep the brain imagining, to keep hope alive.'"

There is so much to take away from The Paris Library - that there is the heroism in even the smallest actions, bravery in all of us and true power in words. I cannot recommend it enough.

Thank you to Atria Books, NetGalley and the author for a copy to review.

The Paris Library is everything you'd want in a World War 2 novel about the American Library in Paris. It flips back and forth between Lily in 1980s Montana(random, but the author is from there) and Odile in 1940s Paris. I absolutely loved the literary quotes and references that you'd expect in a book about a library. It was fascinating to me to see how Paris acted in the middle of the war. The way people were forced to react to Nazis taking over and the way they chose to respond. I loved how books were the main focus and I also loved how so many of the characters were real people.

Many of the characters and events in Paris during World War II in this story are based on truth. The American Library in Paris sets the scene and introduces Odile, her family, her coworkers, and library users in the late 1930's and early 40's during the Nazi occupation. The book then moves to 1980's Montana and Lily and her family and her French next door neighbor. The teenager and Odile become friends and Lily and the reader learn the tragic events in Odile's life as she passes her hard won wisdom to Lily. A thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital copy I received for an honest review.

Huge thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for providing this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction! I was browsing Netgalley for books to request when I came across The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and immediately grabbed my attention. I read the synopsis and was hooked. I requested and was lucky enough to receive an e-arc!

The Paris Library follows two young women through two timelines. Odile is a young woman living in Paris during the 1930’s-40’s. Odile has just started as a librarian at the American Library in Paris (the ALP). The book follows her journey throughout the Nazi occupation of Paris and WW2. Lily is a teenage girl in Montana in the 1980’s. Lily is a student who is fascinated by everything French. She decides to interview her neighbor, Odile, for a school project about France.

I absolutely adored The Paris Library. It is first and foremost a love letter to readers. The overarching theme of The Paris Library is the power of books and the importance of libraries. I felt so connected to Odile whenever she described her love of books, libraries, and reading.

There are so many fantastic quotes . . .

Breathing in the best smell in the world—a mélange of the mossy scent of musty books and crisp newspaper pages—I felt as if I’d come home.

I loved being surrounded by stories, some as old as time, others published just last month.

I never judged a book by its beginning. It felt like the first and last date I’d once had, both of us smiling too brightly. No, I opened to a page in the middle, where the author wasn’t trying to impress me.

“I’m Odile Souchet. Sorry to be late. I was early, and I opened a book . . .” “Reading is dangerous,” Miss Reeder said with a knowing smile. “Let’s go to my office.”

The Library is my haven. I can always find a corner of the stacks to call my own, to read and dream. I want to make sure everyone has that chance, most especially the people who feel different and need a place to call home.

“The best thing about Paris? It’s a city of readers,” our neighbor said.

“We’re bookmates,” she said, in the decisive tone one would assert “the sky is blue,” or “Paris is the best city in the world.” I was skeptical about soul mates, but could believe in bookmates, two beings bound by a passion for reading.

Then, with a handful of pages left, I started to dread the fact that this world that I loved was coming to an end. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. I read slowly, just savoring the scenes.

“Why on earth would you want to be a librarian?” he asked, an étincelle, a sparkle, in his eye. “Sometimes I like books more than people.” “Books don’t lie or steal,” he said. “We can depend on them.” I was surprised, and heartened, to hear an echo of my own feelings.

“But seriously, why books. Because no other thing possesses that mystical faculty to make people see with other people’s eyes. The Library is a bridge of books between cultures.”

“We all have a book that’s changed us forever,” I said. “One that let us know that we’re not alone. What’s yours?”

“Books will outlast us all.”

The Paris Library is very much a character driven story. There is little to no action. Unlike a typical WW2 based historical fiction, we do not see the outright violence and horror of the war or concentration camps. Instead we focus on the loss and devastation that individual people faced on daily basis. We see family members say goodbye to sons/brothers/friends as they leave to fight in the war. We see the women waiting in endless lines for miniscule rations. We see homes left abandoned after Jewish tenants are forced into camps. And, of course, we see the library and the censorship, surveillance, and rules that are forced upon it.

I honestly had never thought about the the impact of the war on libraries. During the Nazi occupation, Jewish and anyone determined to be an “enemy alien” library subscribers were banned from entering the library. However, librarians from the ALP worked together and delivered books to these subscribers at home. Odile is a fictional character, but librarians like her risked everything to make sure that everyone was able to have access to the library. This is just the most beautiful, kind, and courageous act. I can’t imagine how scary it would have been to pass through the Nazi checkpoints while delivering books. But they still did it.

“I decided that words were worth fighting for, that they were worth the risk.”

“Libraries are lungs,” she scrawled, her pen barely able to keep up with her ideas. “Books the fresh air breathed in to keep the heart beating, to keep the brain imagining, to keep hope alive.”

I think Lily perfectly describes how brave and incredible this was . . .

“You were brave,” I told Odile. “Keeping the library open and making sure all people could check out books.” She sighed. “I did the minimum.” “Le minimum? What you did was amazing. You gave subscribers hope. You showed that during the worst of times, people were still good. You saved books and people. You risked your life to defy the fricking Nazis. That’s huge.”

I could not have said it any better.

I highly encourage everyone to read the author’s note at the end of the book. Janet Skeslien Charles did a huge amount of research for this book. So much of The Paris Library is true and/or based in fact and on real people. I love reading author’s notes in historical fiction books because it is so fun to learn where authors get their inspiration from!

The Paris Library is also a story of friendship. There is loss, love, betrayal, and hope. The Paris Library shows the power of a true friend. It beautifully and heartbreakingly illustrates the importance of treasuring that friendship, being open with those you love, and not running away. This is shown through Odile’s relationship with Margaret.

As I said before, The Paris Library is a character driven story. And I came to love so many of these characters! I truly feel like I go to know each and every one of them. It’s like Lily thought after she heard Odile’s story . . .

“Her hand hugging mind, she introduced her cast of characters. Dear Maman and down-to-earth Eugenie. Blustery Papa. Remy, the mischievous twin I would see every time I looked at Odile. His girl, Bitsi, the brave librarian. Paul, so handsome, I fell in love with him, too. Margaret, every bit as fun as Mary Louise. Miss Reader, the Countess, and Boris, the heart and soul and life of the Library. People I would never know, would never forget. They’d lived in Odile’s memory, and now they lived in mine.“

The relationships and friendships between these characters are one of the things that makes The Paris Library so special! Odile’s relationship with Remy, the staff at the ALP, and later with Lily are all beautiful examples of friendship. I love her bond with Remy and the way the staff at the ALP all nerd out about reading. However, my favorite relationship is between Odile and Lily. I love how Lily brings joy and light back into Odile’s life. And how Odile introduces Lily to books and the love of reading. I actually equally enjoyed reading both the Paris and Montana timelines.

As you can see I really enjoyed The Paris Library. I could keep gushing about it for a long time. I wrote down so many quotes that I love! The book mates one is my favorite – I sent it to my book bestie because it describes us perfectly!

I actually struggled writing this review because I don’t feel like I’m able to capture the magic I felt while reading The Paris Library. I think I ended up just ranting, but I can’t help it! The Paris Library actually reminded my of Ruta Sepetys’ books . . . a beautiful story that also teaches me something about a lesser known part of history. This is just a very special book that I think everyone should read. I will hold The Paris Library close to my heart forever.

Congrats to Janet Skeslien Charles on this stunning book!

THE PARIS LIBRARY IS SET TO BE RELEASED FEBRUARY 9TH, 2021 BY ATRIA BOOKS.

Most World War II fictions are horrendous and detail the brutality of the Nazis, the gestapo, or the concentration camps and this book wasn’t that. Yes, there was the back drop of a war and very changed times, but at the heart of this book is a library, a love for books and friendships. There was much charm throughout this book. The characters and their choices, made them unique and brought light to what different people had to do to survive. Of course, as a reader, reading about libraries and books warms my heart. Most importantly, as the book progressed and the story unfolded, it tugs at your heart strings. I’m not going to lie. It was a slower start, but it ended strong and left an ache within me and made me sift through my own memories in general.