Thought-provoking and different from what I usually read, but I really enjoyed it. Her writing style is clear and the story flows beautifully.

I wish I had read the author’s notes first so I would have understood that many of the characters were real and courageous champions of reading. Told in alternating chapters, we first meet Odile, who gets her dream job in the American Library of Paris (ALP). Her father, police captain, keeps trying to match her with policemen in his force and finally succeeds in a match when Odile is attracted to Paul, who approves of her independent spirit. And then the Nazis occupy Paris and life changes. Moving to a small town in Montana in 1988, teenaged Lily befriends her elderly neighbor, Odile who helps her through the maze of her mother’s death, her father’s remarriage, and the insecurities of adolescence. Moving back and forth in time, the reader will cheer for the inner strength of characters and the determination of library staff to save the library. Reader will also come to understand the compromises Paris citizens had to make in order to survive.

I've read a lot of historical fiction, so it's difficult for one book from this genre to stand out for me; The Paris Library is one of those books. This dual timeline story seamlessly takes us from WWII to Montana in the 80's, and it is obvious that a tremendous amount of research went into this book. I loved the message that books and libraries are necessary, especially during difficult times. There are so many compelling elements to this novel that I couldn't put it down. You will not only learn about the role of American Library in Paris librarians during WWII, but you will also be drawn into a coming of age story, a love story, and a story of betrayal and forgiveness.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of The Paris Library. I highly recommend it!!

It's been a while since I've read historical fiction and this was worth it!
I'm glad I read this in February because I fell in love. The Paris Library is absolutely beautiful. I go into books blind, so I actually didn't discover this was based on a true story and true characters until the end, and wow. 
The imagery and character development is so rich I felt as if I was in Paris. I was truly swept away! The boldness of these characters to do the right thing was inspiring. This is truly a historical fiction for book lovers because there are so many literary references and quotes. The library came to life as a character in itself that provided refuge and strength to its subscribers. 
I also loved the dual timeline and multiple POV writing style. I enjoyed watching Lily learn about Odile. It was a beautiful contrast to discover the past alongside the present of Odile's life. Her past was heartbreaking and raw, yet Lily brought her new life. Their friendship was so sweet. 
The Paris Library is easily a 5 star read for me. If you enjoyed The Nightingale you will love this one.

A Historical WWII story about the Librarians of the American L:ibray in Paris .
Good history of the library and the people that worked in it .
Olie was a young librarian who loves books and did all she can to save books.
The story went back and forth from 1939 to 1983 and tells the story of both Olie and Lily.
Voluntarily Reviewed.

I thought I had heard every WWII that had been written, and then along comes one with a unique point of view, that I just loved.

This story taking place in two timelines, Paris during WWII and Montana in the 1980’s. Our protagonist Odile gets her dream job at the American Library in Paris. During her time there, Paris becomes occupied by the German army, and the American Library becomes part of the resistance.

This was a very well researched book with a lot of meticulous details. Additionally, Charles gave us a heart wrenching story about Odile and her family and friends. I was completely immersed in this world and felt everything the author was trying to convey.

If you are thinking not another WWII story, I say give this one a chance. You will be lucky enough to immerse yourself in this part of the French resistance that you might not know happened.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There is so much to love about this book! The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles is historical fiction based in historical fact. And oh how I love books like this!

In Paris during 1939 and beyond we meet Odile, who is the daughter of a policeman in Paris during World War 2. She is most of all, a lover of books and manages to get a job in the American Library in Paris. There she meets many wonderful people who help this young lady grow and learn, but Odile sometimes does not heed their advice.

In 1983 Montana we meet Lily. Lily decides to get to know her neighbor, who doesn't seem to like anyone. Lily's neighbor is Odile. From their these two form a friendship of sorts and Odile helps Lily, not only learn to speak French, but to hopefully learn from the mistakes that Odile made.

What I loved most about this book was how the author told the stories of these people and managed to seamlessly tell an important part of history at the same time. There were so many undercurrents in this book and it kept me up late for two nights!! I had to finish it! The very last paragraph in this book made me cry because you never know how one small act can change the course of someones life.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the wonderful eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Based on the true World war II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris..
A quote from early on in the book- "Because I believe in the power of books - we do important work, by making sure knowledge is available, and by creating community."
I too believe in the power of books. I believe sharing books and making them and the information and knowledge they contain available to everyone is important "work". And I absolutely believe that books & libraries create an amazing community of bibliophiles, readers, book lovers! I love how this book refers to Odile and Bitsi as bookmates! Like soulmates for book people ❤️
This historical fiction story of The Paris Library delves into an interesting view of the war. It does not sugarcoat, not everyone gets a happy ending. And yet the story is beautiful and important. It weaves back and forth between present day and wartime and yet I found myself so engrossed in each of those two storylines that I had a tendency to forget that the book was going to take me forward or back to the alternating story. And at the end of the book when the two stories so seamlessly merged I side with the contentment of knowing that I had just read a wonderful book 💕

*I received this book for free from Netgalley and Atria Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*

You give me a WWII historical fiction novel about librarians and you can sign me up right away! I had never heard anything about the American Library in Paris before. I didn't even know it existed, actually, which is a shame. I now know that the people who worked there during the Nazi occupation of Paris were brave beyond measure and incredibly inspiring.

The description of this library and the people who worked there was just so welcoming. It felt like getting a warm hug from a friend. As an aspiring librarian myself, I loved getting to learn more about the inner workings of this library during such a trying time in history (something that is being mirrored in certain ways by the trying times we are currently living in). Now I wish that I had known about this magical place so that I could have visited when I went to Paris a few years ago.

The characters in this story were very real and raw. It is always a little bit heartbreaking to read novels set in WWII because the heroines are usually so excitable and full of life at the beginning, only to become darker and more jaded by the end. This was certainly the case with Odile. I really liked her, and I liked the fact that you got to see the darker sides of her personality as well. People deal with stress and fear differently - and this novel illustrates this to devastating effect.

I will say that I was not as much of a fan of the sections about Lily. They were well written, but I just found myself wanting to speed through those sections to get back to the parts in Paris. This was the main reason that I lowered the rating of this book by a star.

I really enjoyed learning about the real people who kept the American Library in Paris up and running during the war. The fact that they put their own lives at risk in order to continue serving their Jewish and foreign patrons during the occupation is inspiring and beautiful. The power of the written word endures.

(I will come back to add my link when it is posted on the 8th)

I found the premise here interesting from both timelines. Odile, while sometimes a bit immature, is easy to love. I liked how she connected to books, and to the library. The relationships she made, the character interactions... it all made a lot of sense and helped to move the story along. Lilly is a lonely girl in Montana that just lost her mother and now her workaholic father is remarrying. The only one that seems to understand is her enigmatic neighbor, Odile, whom the rest of the town call The War Bride long after the death of her husband and son. I loved their connection, watching them both grow together.
I will say that the story was a little slow at first, it took some time to get into it and there were moments where one timeline seemed superfluous. Like many historical fictions, I would say a good quarter of the book is character introduction and laying the scene... it can drag, but the rest of the book more than made up for it. I loved the book references, and the quotes, the author's turn of phrase. Paris came alive in all it's beauty- and it's ugliness at that time- as did small town living. For me this was a really well written story- I admire the amount of research that must have gone into adding real individuals into the imagined world. I won't say it was the best historical fiction I have read recently, but it was definitely up there. I'd say this is a four star book.
As far as adult content goes, there's violence, language, sexual content and sexual violence/ violence towards women that might be hard to deal with. I would say this one is definitely for a more mature audience.
I was lucky enough to receive an eARC from Netgalley and Atria books in exchange for an honest review. My thanks!

I was really looking forward to this book as it has to do with two of my favorite subjects, WWII and books! I liked it in the beginning and the characters were great but towards the middle things got a bit sloppy for me. I felt like the characters, mainly Odile, sort of fell apart for me and some of the scenes felt very rushed. There is a lot of potential here but needs some help.

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles 

Books about books...what's not to love! This one has a dual storyline- Odile's life in Paris in 1939, working at a library as France is invaded by Germany;  then Odile's life in Montana 40 years later.

The one constant in this story is Odile, she is a beautiful main character! I actually preferred the 1980 storyline quite a bit more than the Paris library storyline. I really enjoyed Odile's friendship with her young neighbor, Lily.

The narration on this one was beautifully done. WIth three narrators, this was easy to follow. 

Although this was a tad slow, I would still recommend this to historical fiction lovers.

"... a library without members is a cemetery of books... Books are like people; without contact, they cease to exist."

"...she realized it was true, she'd gotten everything she wanted. She wished she'd known to want more."

"Language is a gate that we can open and close on people. The words we use shape perception, as do the books we read, the stories we tell each other, and the stories we tell ourselves."

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The Paris Library is really about the American Library in Paris and its unique cast of characters. Odile is passionate about reading and working despite her parent's wishes as the war reaches France. The story follows her and her colleagues as they try to continue normal operations and making sure that books still get to their beloved library members. As the Nazi's overwhelm France they risk their own lives and safety to get books to folks who can no longer physically come to the library. We see all of the horrors of war, internment camps, rationing, racial injustice and violence. I really enjoyed following Odile through these years and adapting to new circumstances and growing into an adult. There were some surprising and harsh twists that I did not expect.

But dual timelines strikes again for me... some times I love it and some times I don't get the need for it. In this story, I did not see any need for the Montana storyline. Maybe I missed something, but I just didn't feel like Odile teaching Lily the lesson she learned added much to the story. I really considered giving this three stars because I found myself distracted in those chapters. Buck ended up having a quick blurb of who he was and how she ended up in Montana, I really wanted more of Odile's story and less of Lily's. But the ending of the French story bumped it back up to a four for me.

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles is a fascinating and entertaining novel. It is based on the true story of the heroic librarians of the American Library in Paris (ALP) and the resistance movement they formed against the German occupation during World War II. In 1939 Odile Souchet, a recent library school graduate, lands her dream job at the ALP. Her father, captain of a police precinct, only wants to see Odile married. Odile thrives in her position at the library and makes many close friendships. She falls in love with Paul, a police officer. As the war and occupation escalate the Nazi “Library Protector” (aka as the Book-Nazi) comes to inspect the library. He admonishes the ALP director that certain books can no longer be circulated, and certain people (Jews) may no longer enter the library. Several of the library’s most loyal subscribers are Jewish. The librarians pledge that delivering books to their Jewish patrons will be their form of resistance. As tensions mount in Paris, Odile wonders who locally is fueling the Nazi’s with information for their arrests. Is there an informant among them?
The Paris Library’s plot moves between war torn Paris and small-town Montana in 1983. Lily is an unhappy Montana teenager and Odile is her very private neighbor. Odile, a widow, attends church weekly but speaks to know one. Lily seeks out Odile’s company and forms a friendship with her that helps Lily survive her mother's death and trying high school years. This bond ultimately changes both of their lives. The women’s stories are juxtaposed, but it is the power of words that ultimately connects them. "The Paris Library is a reminder that we must protect and appreciate what we have," Charles said. This novel provides a valuable lesson for us all.

The Paris Library

The Paris Library is a historical fiction novel based on the true story of librarians at the American Library in Paris during World War II; more than that, it is a story about the importance of books and how they shape the world around us.

The Paris Library is a dual timeline novel. From 1939-1944, we follow Odile, the newest librarian at the American Library in Paris, as she deals with life, love, and loss through WWII. Fast forward to 1983 in Montana where we meet Lily, a high school student who lives next door to Odile. Lily finds herself interested in her mysterious french next door neighbor and convinces her teacher to let her do a project on France just to have an excuse to talk to Odile.

I really enjoyed the dual timeline in this book; I never felt like I was rushing to get back to the other timeline. When Lily was wondering about parts of Odile’s past, so was I. I also loved how Odile did not become bitter in the second timeline; she tried to learn from her past mistakes and help Lily not to make similar ones.

4.5 stars, rounded down.

Brief synopsis: The world is on the brink of WWII. Odile is a young woman in Paris who dreams of being a librarian at the American Library in Paris. When she lands the job, her love of books consumes her days, but when the Germans come, the library becomes so much more as the librarians work to keep it open in a German-occupied France. In 1980s Montana, Lily dreams of escaping her small town where her potential feels limited. The two heroines, though decades apart in age, share similarities that bond them.

This historical fiction novel is a tribute to the bonding power of books and the escape and hope they offer in the darkest of times. I started this book with high hopes, relishing in the references to famous books and Odile's immense knowledge of the dewey decimal system. Initially, I was less impressed with Lily's storyline. I find that a struggle I have with multiple timelines in historical fiction is that I'm typically drawn to one storyline more than the other. With The Paris Library, I wasn't sure where Lily's story was going or why two timelines were necessary. As I read, however, I came to appreciate both timelines and loved Lily and Odile's bond by the end.

As a reader who grew up in a very small town where it was hard to picture the world beyond, I related to Lily's naivete and fascination regarding Odile. Lily wants to know about France, and Paris specifically. Odile, by contrast, finds a piece of herself in Lily, who is still wide-eyed and eager to see the world, a world that disappointed Odile time and again. Neither character is perfect, but it is through their respective mistakes that they find connections and, in some ways, redemption.

When I finished this book, I was shaken by the ending. I read a fair amount of historical fiction and I thought I knew where the book was going, but I was stunned by the ending. I never imagined their connection would be as redemptive as it is.

I highly recommend for readers who enjoy dual timelines, books about women in wartime, and women dreaming beyond the limitations of their lives.

You know when you read a book and it feels like it was made for you? That was The Paris Library. I couldn’t put it down but also tried to slow myself down so that the story wouldn’t end. So much of world war history focuses on the actual physical conflicts (as it should) that the story of those left behind is often missed. I was profoundly moved reading about life in the city during occupation and it forced me to rethink my very black and white views on the subject. Relationships, experiences, and decisions are always more complicated than they seem from the outside. The author expertly weaves in the story from two different times and places with such a clear moral: controlling your impulses and being measured in your responses. What an absolute gem of a book. Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A woman looking to close the book on her past and a girl ready to turn the page to her future . . . the obstacles they face are worlds apart, yet so much is still the same.

Told in split time, and based upon the real-life resistance of the librarians at the American Library, young Odile’s story transports readers back to WWII Paris, to a time when goosesteps rang out on Parisian streets and smuggling a book to an old friend was considered an act of war. Years later, in 1980s Montana, teenager Lily is endlessly curious about her mysterious neighbor, the war bride Odile. Will their unlikely friendship give them both the courage to write a new chapter for their lives?

Beautifully written, rich in detail, and laced with characters that have since taken up residence in the library of my mind, The Paris Library is a story that dares to explore both the brightest and the darkest, bitterest places of the heart. A must-read for anyone who loves books and the storied lessons they leave behind.

Paris, books and a library – C’est très magnifique! Readers will fall into the lives of the mysterious, foreigner Odile Gustafson and her inquisitive next-door neighbor, twelve-year old Lily.
Author Janet Skeslien Charles weaves Odile’s experiences at the American Library in Paris during World War ll, with Lily’s uncommon and insatiable desire to know about all things French. Lily has requested her class book report on Ivanhoe be changed to a report on France-so she has an excuse to interview Odile and find out how in the world she landed in Froid, Montana from Paris! When her insistent knock goes unanswered, Lily boldly steps right into Odile’s living room, snooping around the record collection and the extensive library. Odile oddly appears from the bedroom and surprisingly agrees to the interview! Thus, Odile enters Lily’s life, and they are both changed forever.
Odile had been obsessed with books and libraries since her Aunt Caro introduced her to the Dewey Decimal System and the card catalog at the age of nine: “Inside you’ll find the secrets of the universe.” She begins the interview by telling Lily the completely absorbing tale of her time at the American Library in Paris and how the brave, dedicated staff determined, against ALL odds, that the library would remain open during the German occupation of France. Readers will come to respect the directress, Miss Reeder; adore Boris, the Russian head librarian famous for his bibliotherapy; and wonder about trustee and real-life writer, Countess Clara de Chambrun. The author’s strong character development of endearing staff involved with the daily operations, many subscribers, “habituès”, and volunteers such as Margaret, add several more chilling chapters to Odile’s accounting of her years in war torn Paris. The relationship between Odile’s parents, her twin, Remy, and their involvement in war activities adds complexity to her unlikely arrival in the United States. How DID Odile get to Froid, Montana? That is a “story within a story!”
When asked by a reporter, “Why were books being sent to soldiers to improve morale? Why not wine? Odile answered, “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.”
When asked by Lily, “The best thing about Paris? Odile answered, “It’s a city of readers.” Join Odile and Lily in this “view of Paris” through the heart and lens of a librarian in The Paris Library.

Odile seems to be just a reclusive old lady living next door. Lily is in junior high and has not interest in getting to know her until her family is in crisis. Told in dual storylines from WW II and the mid-1980's, this story of two women and the way their lives intersect is told with stellar timing. Both believe in their own way that their world is a certain way and are determined to break out. What neither one realizes is the part others in their circles play in their story. I picked this book up, because of the library angle and it did not disappoint. Libraries all over the world have many similar tales to tell and it was easy to see some parallels between a library during wartime and a library in the midst of a pandemic.

What I found most compelling about this book were some of the little things that were really much more important later: the red belt, birds (crows, robins, etc.), those anonymous notes that seem to grow in weight as the book continues, leeks vs. rutabags, and more. Finally a word about books like this that give us a glimpse of those who may not have been on the "heroes" list once the Paris occupation was done. Many books tell the stories of those who did extraordinary things, but there were also everyday people who may have made mistakes. They may not have grasped the opportunity for greatness when it was in front of them. (A good read alike that explores themes like this is 'Paris Never Leaves You' by Ellen Feldman.) We deal with it now. Decisions which may seem small like wearing a mask, getting a vaccine, voting for a particular candidate, not buying goods 'Made In China,' etc. may be much more significant when we look back on them in the rearview mirror. As Janet Skeslien Charles so wisely points out in her notes at the end of the book, what is more important is to 'treat people with dignity and compassion.'

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.