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There are currently 24 member reviews
for The Last Chance Library
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Loren B. (Appleton, WI)
Enjoyable
I really enjoyed this book. It had a Hallmark Movie kind of vibe to it, but I mean that in a good way. The characters were believable and (mostly) likable. I found myself caring and rooting for them (especially June).
Recommended.
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Antoinette B. (Charlottesville, VA)
A Library For All
I found this a sweet story. It would be a good bookclub book if your group likes more of a simplistic story. There are definitely things to discuss. This book deals with life's struggles and loss. I found the pace slow and the characters rather boring. She did however show how important libraries are to small communities. I found there were parts I wanted to be more expanded and others to know less about.
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Erin J. (Milwaukie, OR)
Enjoyable but for the cliches
What I loved best about this book was that the author correctly identifies June as a library assistant and NOT a librarian. Becoming an actual librarian involves earning a bachelor's degree in any field AND a master's degree in library science. June hasn't been to college at all and therefore cannot be a librarian. Most people who work at libraries are assistants, and not librarians. Doesn't mean June isn't good at her job; it just means her training and experience is different.
I also loved getting to know the quirky characters, despite them each being well-known stereotypes: the homeless man, the brilliant child, the elderly curmudgeon, the outspoken voracious reader who hates all the books, the teenager seeking a quiet place to study, and the recent immigrant trying to make a go of it in her new home. I loved the way June's fantasies merged into Mrs. B's rants or queries from other patrons. I enjoyed watching June take steps into the world and cringed when she crumpled or was crushed by the Mean Girls. And I appreciated that the plot took a few zigs and zags to keep things a bit less predictable. Also June's impromptu scheme to kill two birds with one stone by redirecting Rocky away from the "hen do" and toward the FOCL rally cracked me up.
What I could have done without were the cliches--like her curly hair being pulled into a tight bun, her uber-lonely life with books as her only true friends, or the fact that despite working in a library for TEN YEARS, she seemed to have never read anything written in this century. I get that June's mom dressed her in random stuff from thrift shops, and she was a nerdy kid, but there is simply no way she was that isolated or clueless. Hurt by her best friend's betrayal, yes, but to the point of never ever making another friend? That just feels like the author is belittling the intelligence and social capabilities of readers, which sets my teeth on edge.
I haven't researched the state of British libraries, so I cannot speak to the likelihood of closures like this where over half the council seems oblivious to the obvious benefits to society of having a functional, funded library, or where greedy council members push a nefarious agenda, but it was reminiscent of both The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan and The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy, so maybe it's a trend in the U.K. & Ireland?
Overall this book was a solid 3 stars out of 5 for me. I liked it, but it had serious flaws also.
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