Fascinating story based on the librarians at the American Library in Paris during WW2. And their commitment to keep the library open and deliver books to their Jewish friends during the occupation of Paris ..

This was an absolutely beautiful read. I love historical fiction books that feels like you are actually transported to the time period and this book did that 100%! The multiple story lines/multiple time lines were done so seamlessly and I was equally interested in all of them. If you are a fan of WWII novels I highly recommend this one. I am so looking forward to reading more books by this author.

Set during World War II in France and the 1980s in Montana, The Paris Library is about friendship, family, forgiveness and the power of books to bring hope. It’s about a woman during the war who works in The American Library in Paris, the people from different backgrounds that work at the library, and how they all resist the occupation by continuing to get books to the people who need them. In the 80s, a young girl befriends her neighbor who arrived in Montana after the war and no one knows much about her. While this is a WWII story and there are hard things in the book, it is full of hope and it is inspired by the true courageous acts of the librarians at The America Library.

This was another wonderful WWII novel! Highly recommend! I really enjoyed the dual timeline. I really enjoyed this, definitely recommend!

Thank you, Atria Books, for the gifted copy of The Paris Library! {partner}

I can't tell you how badly I wanted to love this book. It seemingly had everything that I needed in a historical fiction - library setting, dual perspectives, dual timeline and a little bit of mystery. But, for whatever reason, I could not get into this book. I was constantly confused on which character perspective I was reading and what all the connections were. It's one of those that I think I needed to be in the right mood to read, but obviously this was not the right one. I may circle back and try it again (maybe on audio) but for the time being, I'm going to set this one down and pick up something else.

Dual timeline novels that bridge the distant past with the more recent past or the present are so effective for helping students understand historic events. Students can get a better sense of the past, the emotions of people during crisis, and the very things that make us human. Recommend.

The Paris Library highlights a little known story set in World War II, which is why I chose to read it. Odile is a Paris native, whose dream has been to become a librarian at the American Library. Odile finds a home there, with its quirky staff and patrons, as the world changes around her. I really enjoyed this look at Paris during the Occupation and the ways in which life in Paris changed when the Nazis took over. However, I didn't like the dual timeline format. It was jarring to be in occupied France, then thrown into 1980s Montana. I liked the writing, but I think the story would have been better without that aspect.

It was an interesting for the dual timelines. However, it was just too long with lulling plot points that caused me to put the book down and revisit often.

I enjoyed this book it was set in the time of Hitler but showed a different side and it wasn't too dark or heavy like a lot of the Hitler books are. Then later you meet her again and see her helping her neighbor go through some things.

I absolutely adore reading books that are about books. I was expecting this book to be a little sad due to the setting of the story but that wasn't the case, I was left feeling very content.

Another book that was in my list of most anticipated reads for this year, The Paris Library is deserving of both lists as well. I have always loved books that have something to do with books, and when you add in the fact that this is WWII historical fiction with dual timelines and based on true stories, that seals the deal for me. While I loved the historical timeline set in Paris during WWII way more than the one set about 40 years later in Montana, overall, the obvious love of books and the passion to share that love shines throughout the book, and kept me reading to the end.

Source: NetGalley eARC

Historical fiction is one of my preferred genres to read because not only I get immersed in history but I also learn a lot about the period covered in the book that I'm reading, this book was definitely up there in this category.
I had no idea the history about the American Library in Paris or the role that it and the librarians that worked there, played, as part of the resistance during WWII.
I enjoyed reading the dual time presented in the book but especially loved the main character Odile, both as a young woman in Paris during the was years and as a mature woman in Montana. Odile loves books libraries, so much so that she has memorized the Dewey Decimal System, applying it not only to books but to people and events happening in her life.
The author did a lot of research in order to write this book and it shows in the flowing of the writing and how it grabs your attention from beginning to end.

This book was a recommendation and I’m very glad I read it. This author cannot miss and I can’t wait to read more in the future.

In 1939, Odile has her dream job working in the Paris Library, until the Nazis take Paris. Despite the strict Nazi regulations on who can use the library and read which books, Odile and her coworkers resist, providing books to Jewish readers. In Montana, 1983, teenage Lily interviews Odile for a school project, and a friendship begins. This dual-character/dual-timeline novel is a story courage and resistance, love and friendship, and the importance of books. Interesting, touching, and great for book groups.

I read most of the fiction set in Paris that I can find. Loved the librarian perspective on how people got by during the occupation, and thought the Odile character was well developed. I appreciate the dual timeline of the story, something that can be hard to pull off. Overall, an enjoyable read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this dual-timeline novel about the American Library in Paris during the second World War. The characters were beautifully written and the story was completely engaging. I have recommended this book to several friends.

In the winter of 1939, young Parisian Odile Souchet thinks that working in the American Library in Paris (the ALP, a real institution, founded in 1920) sounds like a great job. The young Parisian loves to read, speaks English well, and knows the Dewey Decimal system by heart. In fact, she connects her strong feelings to books she has read and their Dewey Decimal numbers.

Throughout the next five years of Nazi occupation of her country, ALP colleagues and clients, some of them actual historical people and colourful characters, are Odile’s among closest contacts. And she daringly packs books to send to British and Jewish people who are banned from the institution by Nazi edicts.

Four decades later, American seventh grader Lily Jacobsen wonders how the solitary European woman next door ended up in their small town in Montana. And the book then alternates between Odile and Lily’s stories and first person points of view. As so often happens with dual timeline historical fiction, the storyline set in the past is far more interesting, and a reader might find herself wanting to hurry through Lily’s sections.

This is a good, if uneven, book for bibliophiles and library lovers and people who enjoy WWII fiction.

I am a big fan of both historical fiction and libraries so I was super excited to read "The Paris Library". I really loved Odile and thought her story was compelling. I also really loved Lilly's story. I would have liked to learn more about what happened to some of the other characters at the end of the story. All in all a wonderful WWII historical fiction.

5 stars I found this book to be very enjoyable and I really loved how the timelines of the past and the present intertwine with each other as we dive deeper into Oldie's past during the war and how she lost everything she held dear.

3.5⭐️ - I enjoyed the story while I was reading, but didn't feel a ton of emotional connection to the characters, so when I put the book down, it wasn't actively pulling me back in.