Odile is a young Frenchwoman, thrilled to be hired by the American LIbrary in Paris just before the start of WWII. Lily is a young American struggling to find her place in her 1980's small town after the death of her mother. When the two meet they form a friendship that will save them both.

Based on the true heroines of the American Library of Paris, this dual timeline story really does grip you and keep you engrossed until the end. Love, betrayal, and heartache all weave together to make a fabulous novel based on real people.
I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


This felt like such a perfect read! As a book lover, I’m of course drawn to stories about libraries and book stores, but the added bonus with this story is that it also covers one of my favorite genres: historical fiction. Based on real life people and events, this dual timeline narrative tells the story of the American Library in Paris and the efforts of its staff to keep the library open during the German occupation of France in World War II. The main narrative in the past is told from the perspective of Odile Souchet, the 20-year-old daughter of a police commissioner who gets her dream job working at the Library — she quickly grows close to the staff she meets at the library and together, they join the effort to fight the Nazis the best way they know how: through the power of literature. In a second timeline interspersed throughout the story, teenager Lily lives in a small town in Montana in the 1980s — lonely and bored, Lily’s curiosity is piqued by the elderly woman living next door to her, a widow named Odile Gustafson who mostly keeps to herself, yet has a sophisticated nature about her that stands out in such a small town. Discovering that they share a lot in common, Lily and Odile strike up a friendship that grows into a special bond as Lily learns more and more about Odile’s past and the circumstances that caused her to leave France.

When I first picked this book up, knowing that it would be historical fiction set during WWII, I admit that I was expecting a very different type of story. Given the subject matter, I thought the story would be bleak and depressing, but while there was certainly sadness, the overall tone was hopeful and uplifting. Having said that, I definitely preferred the past narrative to the present one, as I loved reading about the library and what went on, plus the characters were wonderfully drawn (it was fascinating to read the Author’s Note at the end and find out which characters were actually real people). With the present narrative, the aspect I appreciated most was the special friendship between Odile and Lily, the connection they had, and how we find out towards the end the significance of the two of them entering each other’s lives at the times they did.

This is a book that I would definitely recommend, as it is absorbing, engaging, and absolutely atmospheric — a lovely story from an angle that doesn’t get covered much in the canon of WWII fiction. I appreciate how the author didn’t gloss over the serious stuff — the grueling history of that time period and some of the atrocities that took place — but at the same time, didn’t take a heavy-handed approach either. It’s not often that I feel compelled to do additional research after reading a book, but this one definitely did — I was so fascinated by the story that I wanted to read more about the Library and the real-life people who had made things happen. To me, that’s as sure an indication as any as to how much I liked this book! In addition to looking forward to this author’s next book, I also hope to check out her acclaimed debut at some point!

Received ARC from Atria Books via NetGalley

Odile Souchet lands her dream job at The American Library in Paris. It's 1939 and her life is working out just how she hoped. She's fallen in love with a police officer who loves her for her independence and her love of books. Even though her brother warns constantly that the war will arrive in Paris, Odile has her doubts. Then the unthinkable happens and the Nazi's arrive. Odile and her fellow librarians join the Resistance and use books to help fight the atrocities at home yet when the war ends, she's faced with a bitter betrayal that sets her life on a different course. In 1983, Odile's young neighbor Lily, breaks down the fortress she's built around her heart and slowly Odile's story comes to light. Can the young girl help her heal or will Odile become more distant and withdrawn than ever before?

I found this story to be heartwarming even though it's laced with heartache, betrayal, and loss. It's one of those books where you just wish you could hug the main characters. Odile and Lily are two peas in a pod although their lives are completely different. I never knew all the information about The American Library in Paris during the war and it was eye opening and endearing. All the talk of books and quotes from books is a book lovers dream.. It was interesting to read a WWII era, historical fiction novel, from a different perspective and full of ordinary, every day people who actually existed. I'm glad the author included information about what happened to them after the war ended. The Paris Library is a must read for historical fiction lovers and book lovers in general.

So I enjoyed this book, it was right in my roundhouse of WWII. But I was really invested in Odile and yes we saw what happened to her, but I felt her story was left unfinished and it left me dissatisfied.

I recently read a book set during WWII France, my last book was set in WWII Paris and my current book is set in WWII France. I have never read much about this location but I have learned so much!
This story is based on the heroic librarians of the American Library in Paris during WWII. In 1939, Odile’s life is pretty perfect. She has a great boyfriend who is a police officer just like her father and just landed her dream job at the American Library. Things change when the Nazis invade France. In 1983, Lily is a lonely teenager in Montana who befriends the mysterious, widowed French woman next door. Lily starts to uncover more about her neighbor as the share a love of languages.
I love historical fiction, especially those which are set during WWII. The two time frames are linked by Odile since is the mysterious neighbor in the 1983 time frame. It was interesting how you learned Odiles life through both time frames. I loved how Odile helped Lily through difficult times in her life. If you like historical fiction, here is a book for you! Thanks to @netgalley and @atriabooks for a copy to read!

"Your words have power. Especially now, in such dangerous times."

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslian Charles is a historical fiction novel based largely on a true story and real people. When WWII was going on, the library was a source of comfort to many, so they were determined to stay open. They shipped books to prisoner of war camps and delivered books to Jews in the city who were no longer allowed to enter the library among other places. I enjoyed the deep focus on books in this story, almost taking the forefront over the plotline of Odile's life. I usually don't enjoy the chapters of historical fiction books that jump to a more modern timeline, but in this book, I found myself truly looking forward to the chapters of older Odile and her young neighbor Lily.

I requested this from Netgalley many months ago because I’ve inherited a masochistic love of historical fiction and nonfiction set in WWII Europe from my dad (this is all Jewish American families, right??) but I’m finding it less fun to read when there are actual Nazis running around taking over seats of government! Anyway, to be perfectly blunt, this book is boring and borderline offensive. The back-and-forth between the WWII plot line and the “old lady has a wartime secret decades later” plot line is formulaic but would be fine if the story were more exciting. The secret is not big or shocking at all, and even the WWII plot line - librarians living under the German Occupation of Paris - is not very eventful. How can this period of history be portrayed so uneventfully??! It’s like all of the events are happening off the page and we’re stuck with this extremely privileged main character whose head is stuck in the sand. I get that it’s based on a true story, but if you make it fiction and make up your entire main character, you can also add a little more plot inspired by the actual events happening around her. Also, are we supposed to sympathize with Nazi collaborators and people who “just didn’t know”??? Ummm no thanks.

Long story short, I’m assuming white bookstagram is going to love this book, especially because of all of the bibliophile elements. I’m going to be really annoyed and disappointed if/when I see love for this book all over my feed around its February pub date. There are so many better WWII books out there (but also a lot of bad ones, too). I'm disappointed because this book had so much potential.

A wonderful read. While i enjoy almost all books with a Paris setting, this book was alive with characters who worked in the American Library during WW II. The book told a parallel story of a girl in Montana getting to know her elderly reclusive neighbor. The author tied the two stories together in an interesting and meaningful way. Lessons of consequences were profound.

I loved WWII fiction that focuses on something I've never heard of. This book focuses on the American Library in Paris during WWII and Montana in the 80s. If you love Fiona Davis you will love this book!

Historical fiction, librarian, love, friendship, family - all of these can be found in this beautiful story.

Flashing back between 1939 and forward to 1983, we meet Odile and of her efforts to keep the American Library in Paris open throughout the war. We also see Odile, years later, through the eyes of Lily, her teenage neighbor in Montana. Their friendship is genuine and secrets get revealed that will impact both of these strong female characters. The two timelines are woven together in a see less way. I only wish we would have gotten more chapters of 1983.

Split timelines - Paris in wartime and Montana in the 1980s.

Odelie is a young woman who love books and the Dewey Decimal system. Living with her parents and twin brother, she takes on a job at the American Library in Paris. She becomes a part of the fabric of the library, another character in the already eccentric cast of characters.

Lily is a teen in Montana, who is fascinated by her neighbor, Odelie. She interviews her for a school assignment but develops a deep and life-long friendship with her lonely French neighbor.

I really did enjoy this book - WWII historical fiction is something I'm always drawn to. Odelie was someone I could imagine being. Running contraband books past Nazi officers, falling in love, working to help her country. Lily's story was a little more complicated - a death, a step-mother and two baby brothers, high school, and the desire to leave her small town.

I did find the end rushed a bit - I wanted more from Odelie's story - more about the rations, the carrying books to subscribers, more about what happened after she left the library. What I LOVED was the author's notes at the end, with information about the actual people from the library - many who were included the book. It made me want to know more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful novel.

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

The Paris Library was a true treat of historical fiction. I knew nothing about the American Library in Paris and so appreciated this story as well as the author notes. I also love stories told from multiple points of view and from past and present. Add this to your to read list. Pub date is Feb 9th. Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy.

Set during World War II, this novel takes place at the American Library in Paris and focuses on how the Nazi occupation affected the library and it’s employees and patrons.

The story centers around the life of Odile Souchet, who is hired at the library right before the war breaks out in France. Her life is immediately complicated when her twin brother joins the military. As the war progresses, the library makes the necessary changes to stay in compliance with the new regime, sometimes at peril to their own lives.

A second timeline takes place in Montana during the 1980’s, when teenage Lily, befriends her elderly neighbor, who just happens to be named Odile. As Lily and Odile grow closer, the two timelines join together to give readers the story of Odile’s life in Paris, why she is reluctant to go back and why she has lost touch with those she cared for deeply during that time of her life.

Throughout the story there are many life lessons, as well as an historical account of how life was for the citizens of Paris during the war.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

The Paris Library was one of my highly anticipated historical fiction books of 2021. You have no idea how much willpower it took to wait to read it closer to it's release date.

This novel is in a past/present format. The past setting is during WWII centered around the American Library in Paris during the Nazi occupation and the present setting is in 1983 small-town Montana where teenager Lily is curious about her homebody older neighbor who just doesn't quite fit in with the town.

Even though I love past/present formats, I tend to gravitate towards one more but with this book I truly enjoyed both. It was so close to being a five star read for me, but I felt that the ending wrapped up rather quickly and left me with questions still.

A must for fans of historical fiction. If you loved either The Lions of Fifth Avenue or The Book of Lost Names; add this to your list!!

3.5 stars rounded up. I read a lot of WWII fiction. The Paris Library is based on the true story of the librarians at the American Library in Paris who defied the Nazis and ensured that people, all people, had books while Paris was occupied.

This is also a coming of age story, or stories, told in dual timelines: Paris from 1939-1945 and Montana from 1983-1988. Odile is a young librarian who grows up during the war. Lily is a young girl who meets an older Odile years after the war. Odile and Lily form an incredible bond and Odile teaches Lily French among other things.

I liked the history in this book. And I liked Janet Skeslien Charles use of literature throughout the story of these librarians.

What I didn’t like was the organization of the book. There is a lot of the war years, interspersed with short chapters in the 80s. Frankly, I didn’t like or care about the 80s part and I wonder if that’s why they are so short. And the end left a lot of questions unanswered.

Overall, if you enjoy WWII novels, learning a little something previously unknown, this book is good.

Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of #theparislibrary.

#book #bookreview #wwiibooks #historicalfiction

Courtesy of NetGalley, I received the ARC of The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles. This WWII historical fiction relates the true events of the American Library in Paris before and during the Nazi occupation. Creating a story of family bonds, friendship, secrets and romance under the umbrella of a love of books, I was impressed by the dedication of this library staff, their concern for their patrons and the methods used to safeguard their books. This tale introduces Odile in Paris during the war and then again as her life plays out in Montana in 1983, as a teenage neighbor becomes her friend, student, and confidant.. They both realize their choices have consequences, but these women learn and grow from their decisions.

I loved the plot of this book. I loved the characters, the setting, and the life lessons that can be taught.
However, I didn't like how there were chapters written in other view points. I felt they didn't add to the story line. I loved Odile's voice so much that I thought those could have been portrayed differently through her. Also, i almost wish there wouldn't have been two time lines because there could have been so much more story told if we focused on Odile.
I really loved Odile and her voice. She grew and changed through the war and came out a different woman.

The Paris Library takes us from the American Library in Occupied Paris to modern-day Montana where the librarian has ended up as a widow of an American G.I. Odile, the librarian, is a young girl falling in love with the library and a French policeman at the start of the war. As the story progresses and Paris gets more and more dangerous, we finally start to piece together why Odile left for someplace as different as Montana. Older Odile is delightful, and the Montana part of the story introduces us to her neighbors, especially a young girl who loses her mother and latches on to the mysterious Frenchwoman.

I was unfamiliar with this author, but she is great at drawing these characters—they are real and complicated, their dialogue is authentic, their actions are believable even when we don’t agree with them. There seems to be a lot of World War II and Occupied Paris historical fiction out there, but the setting of the American Library in Paris was original. I didn’t know anything about it, but I loved being immersed in the patrons, the books, and the community there. I love when a historical fiction novel can make me feel like I was there or that now I want to visit—now I’ll have to add the American Library in Paris to my travel plans. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

The Paris Library is that novel you wait for...the one you don't want to end, and the one that haunts you. A great story, in my mind, is one that finds a home in your head and your heart, and continues to dwell in those places for days and weeks after. The Paris Library weaves together the lives of a community of unique library subscribers during WW2, and of a young woman and her elderly neighbour in the early 1980's. A tale that encompasses history, fear, family and friendship, with a brilliant nod to literature and libraries. I was left wishing I knew a little more about The Paris Library and the people who endured the hardships of war to ensure it endured.