The Library is a charming contemporary fiction story centered around the unlikely friendship that slowly develops between a seventeen year old boy named Tom and a 72 year old woman named Maggie, each with their own ? Socially awkward Tom feels invisible to everyone in his life, from his classmates to his own father. It's not until he sees Farrah that he starts to think there might be more to life than watching his alcoholic father spiral deeper out of control. In an effort to catch the attention of Farrah, who loves romance novels, Tom decides to visit the library. At the very least he could use the opportunity to read a romance novel himself and hopefully learn more about females, a topic he is woefully lacking in knowledge. Maggie, a widower, lives alone on her farm and is a frequent visitor to the library herself. She uses the book group as a way to socialize with other members of the community and as a break from the daily grind of chores around the farm. A chance encounter at the library that starts with robbery and ends with Tom being punched in the nose by none other than Maggie, charts the course for an unusual but endearing friendship. Maggie finds that Tom reminds her of the son she lost and starts to feel comfortable relying on him to help around the farm while Tom relishes having a safe place to go and a home cooked meal to enjoy. When the pair learn of the councils decision to close the library, they band together with members of the community in an effort to save the library, a safe haven for many.

The Library is part coming of age and part exploration of a multi generational friendship set against the backdrop of the library. With a perfect balance of sad and happy elements it will stir your emotions is the best possible way. I particularly enjoyed the U.K. setting that set the stage for the sass and tone that followed. The inclusion of libraries, the love of reading and books as well as the emphasis on libraries as a pillar of the community, was expertly woven into the story, serving as a great reminder to everyone to support your local library. While the library does play a part in bringing our main characters together, the real focus and highlight of the story is the relationships among the characters that continues to develop and evolve over the course of the story. The book has a light tone overall however it does cover some heavy topics such as alcoholism, loneliness, grief and social isolation. I highly recommend The Library for those looking for a character focused contemporary novel with true hidden depth.

Triggers: Alcoholism
My favorite quote from The Library:
" Books are such an underrated essential. Every book is a key that unlocks another world, leads us down the path of a different life and offers the chance to explore an unexpected adventure. Every one is a gift of either knowledge, entertainment or pure escapism and goodness knows we all need that from time to time."
The Library is a contemporary fiction novel about Tom and Maggie who are years apart but both think that they are invisible and dealing with loneliness. Both meet in a library and how these two individuals form a bond makes a beautiful story.
I loved Maggie. Though she has a past she reaches to help Tom and the way she takes charge to save the library is amazing to read. I was little irked with Tom in certain places where he takes Maggie for granted but loved the efforts he puts in to change his life. Comparisons to The Reading List is inevitable but other than the common factors of the character ages and the library this novel is completely different. I thoroughly enjoyed this heartwarming novel.

Die ersten Kapitel des Buches fand ich ganz wunderbar. Ich wurde vom Schreibstil und den beiden Hauptcharakteren tief in die Geschichte gezogen und war von der sich langsam entwickelnden Freundschaft zwischen Maggie und Tom wirklich bezaubert.

Der Fokus bleibt im Verlauf der Geschichte auf der Beziehung, allerdings kommen noch ein paar andere Geschichtsstränge hinzu, von denen ich nicht jeden als absolut überzeugend bzw. notwendig empfand. So z.B. Toms Interesse an einem Mädchen oder eine Entwicklung um einen Mitschüler, der gerne Schwächere herumschubst.

Der Kampf um die Zukunft der Bibliothek hat mich nicht ganz so überzeugen können, wie erwartet. Gleiches gilt für die Geschichte um Toms Vater. Ich fand den Umgang mit seinem Alkoholismus durchaus angemessen, mir hat dieser Teil der Geschichte aber nicht viel gegeben, da fand ich die Szenen mit Maggie und Tom wesentlich interessanter und berührender. Eine weitere Entwicklung in der Geschichte kam für mich aus dem Nichts heraus und passte irgendwie nicht so richtig zum Rest.

Nehme ich das alles zusammen, so denke ich, dass ein-zwei Entwicklungen weniger vielleicht besser gewesen wären. Trotzdem hatte ich mit dem Buch eine gute Zeit und war stellenweise wirklich berührt. 🖤🖤🖤3/4

Für wen?

Wer nach einem Buch mit einer besonderen Freundschaft sucht, sollte sich den Roman mal näher anschauen. Das Buch ist KEIN Liebesroman.

The Library
author: Bella Osborne
Aria & Aries, Aria
Tom, a shy high school student, and Maggie, a seventy-two-year-old lonely widow, tugged at my heartstrings and I had to let them in. The levels of their unlikely friendship are multi-layered and meaningful. Osborne's beautiful story centers around these two souls who met through circumstances related to the Compton Mallow Village Library, built in 1837.
Maggie and Tom both have connections to books. Tom's parents met at a Book Shop, and Maggie likes to escape through reading and visit the library for Book Club socialization.
Their journey of friendship deepens as they find solace in each other's company through the library and at Maggie's farm. Each has qualities that don't appear on the surface, such as Maggie's love for yoga and farm life and Tom's enjoyment of romance novels and underlying resilience. The two share many talks over Lemon Drizzle Cake. As the friendship progresses, they grow and face personal trials as well as one surrounding their beloved library.
This novel touched me in a profound way because of Osborne's rich character development of Maggie and Tom, allowing me to see within their souls and feel their bond. The lovely association of the library, literacy, books, and book club in the plot was a joy.
Thank you to Net Galley and Aria & Aries, Aria for the advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#TheLibrary #NetGalley

It is wonderful when young people forge meaningful relationships with seniors, and Tom and Maggie's friendship is a joy in this book. A sweet and meaningful read!

This book is a gem!
It’s a lovely, uplifting and heartwarming book, that also managed to bring tears to my eyes.
Tom, aged 16, a lonely teenager with problems at home, strikes up an unlikely friendship with 72 year old Maggie in their local library.
It’s a great read and I definitely recommend it.
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really loved this book. It was heartfelt and poignant. Watching the relationship between the characters develop over the course of the book was a real joy and I loved them both completely

I’ve read a few of Bella Osborne’s over the last few months, and have quickly become a huge fan and have loved each and every one. But this one, The Library, may just be my favourite.

What I loved most about this book is Tom and Maggie’s unlikely friendship. Tom is a misunderstood teenage boy whilst Maggie is a confident but lonely elderly lady. Maggie comes into Tom’s life at the right time and they are able to bond over the threatened closure of their local library, a place that is sacred to them both.

I find the generational gap in their friendship is what brings them closer, they are able to learn from each other and support each other in different ways. And as it develops it throughout the book it brings a big smile to your face.

The underlying story of the village library facing closure is unfortunately a situation that many are facing around the country and I think that this story brings this to people’s attention as well as showing that there is something that can be done about it. Our libraries are important to so many people.

The fact that this book features farm life, for me, is an added extra bonus. It shows us the reader, as well as Tom in the story, the power of escape and fresh air.

This book is heartwarming and feel good and I couldn’t help smiling throughout. I loved it!

I can’t wait to read more from Bella!

I could not get into this book. I realize I am one of two readers in the world who didn't like it, but it just did not resonate with me. I work in a small local library.
I get what the message here is supposed to be, and file appreciate the value of intergenerational communicating, of fighting for what's important to you, and of the myriad things libraries bring to communities. I've drunk this particular Kool-aid, yet somehow the way all of those messages were presented here felt saccharine-sweet to me and I couldn't enjoy any part of the experience. I felt the characters were stereotypical and the whole thing overly sentimental, and nothing about the writing or story hooked me... I'm not at all sure why but this one just didn't work for me.

Wow, what a fantastic book! I am a big fan of Bella Osborne's books and always want to read her books as soon as they are published. I was thrilled to receive an early preview copy of this book from Netgalley and the Publisher.
This book is different to her usual style of Romantic Comedy. There's no romance, I would classify it as contemporary fiction. It is about real issues that affect people in real life, like loneliness, grief and feeling like you don't belong.
The book centres around the Library where the protagonists Tom and Maggie meet for the first time. They form an unlikely relationship, despite being a teenager and a pensioner.
I loved the characters of Tom and Maggie. It was very heartwarming to see how they helped and supported each other.
The book highlights just how important Libraries are to a community. Having previously worked in a Library I know that they are not just a place to borrow books from. They are a place to meet up with other people, somewhere to study or learn something new via a course. There are book groups, toddler groups. You can use the computers, very important for people who don't have access to the internet at home. They are are a vital hub for the community.
Sadly, as this book indicates, a lot of libraries are closing down. Maggie and Tom really around to drum up support to try and keep the library open. It was good to see the young and the old coming together to try and save it from closure.
I also enjoyed the various literary references and book club discussions. I was familiar with a lot of the books that Tom and the book club were reading. I could relate to their thoughts.
Once I had read a couple of chapters of this book I was drawn in, I didn't want the book to end. The book followed Tom and Maggie's storues in alternating chapters. It flowed seamlessly between the characters. It is very well written and I really enjoyed reading it, I found it captivating, I loved the storyline. There was both heart and humour. I am looking forward to seeing what Bella Osborne writes next

Thank you to the author, Aria & Aries and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nothing could have kept me from reading this, given the title and the cover - and I was so glad I did, in spite of it not being my usual fare. This was an unexpected gem of a story about a friendship that blossomed between two very different people. There are some heavy themes (alcoholic father, bullying), but the story flows so well and the characters are wonderfully drawn. I felt the author really brought across the distinct voices of a teenage boy and a 70-year old woman. The only niggle I have is the switching between 1st and 3rd person in the POV - why not give both a 1st person voice?

alcohol-issues, angst, generations, protests, family-dynamics, friendship, small-town, rural, farm-animals, farm-equipment, dual-narrators, secrets, second-chance, bullies, social-isolation, loneliness, teens, seniors*****

It all began with a chance encounter at the small local library. A septuagenarian self-sufficient farmer who minimizes contact with others except the Book Club and a teen who has a stressful home life but wants to learn how to talk with girls might seem like an unlikely pair to rescue each other. Together they learn to sort out their own lives and help others while rescuing their library from the greedy local Council. Engrossing.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Aria & Aries/Aria via NetGalley. Thank you!

Tom is a kid dealing with a LOT: the normal suckiness of being a teenager, a huge crush, an unstable bully, no money, a very alcoholic father, and the loss of his mother. Maggie is the retiree he meets at the library, still missing her husband after ten years, and beginning to realize exactly how lonely she is living alone on her farm. They have come to each other's lives at exactly the right time--both for them and the struggling small library that is facing closure. Through the fight for the library, they begin to understand each other and the best ways they can support one another to ease their current predicaments.

Do you need a good, cozy book for Fall (or maybe it's still insanely hot at your house like mine and you'd like to pretend it's Fall...)? This is the book! I hadn't heard of The Library or read anything else by Bella Osborne before this but The Library looked good so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm just so glad I did. Yes, it's cozy, but not without strife or edge. The characters have real problems and their coming together to help each other toward becoming their best selves is wonderful. Osborne is good at showing especially the two main characters in a very honest way--neither one is perfect and both definitely need to make some serious changes and/or fix some past wrongs. Yes, maybe it wrapped up a little too perfectly at the end, but I'll forgive that because it worked for this particular story. I was ready to move to their village and enjoy some good books and tiny sheep.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria Fiction for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. The Library is available Sept. 2nd. #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #stlreads #netgalley @netgalley @bellaosborneauthor #bellaosborne #thelibrarybook #bookreview

CW: death of a parent, strained parental relationships, bullying, alcoholism, addiction

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Tom feels invisible, but is coping by coasting through school and playing Xbox in his room. Maggie is in her 70s and trying to fill her days until she eventually stops waking up to have them, which includes a weekly trip to the library for book club. Tom gets an idea to read romance books for tips on how to talk to girls, and he ends up visiting the library. A series of events connects Tom and Maggie, and a friendship forms. When the library is in danger of closing, these two will do anything they can to keep it open, but their bond may already be stronger than a mutual love for the library...

This story and the genuine connection between Tom and Maggie was heartwarming and so happy. It did get heavy, but their interactions were raw and emotional, and by the end, so beautiful. This is more than an unusual friendship and saving a library. This is a story of overcoming obstacles and bringing out the best in others, supporting them in who they are working to become.

If you love books ( and you surely must as you are here ) you will really enjoy this one. Cross generations develop a friendship in the library. They are very well written characters and that is what you expect from any novel written by Bella. This is different to her usual books but one that you will love to read and not want to put it down. 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this eARC

I honestly loved this - a perfect balance of feelgood and heartwarming without being sickly sweet. Bella really nailed it - the friendship between old and young.

Tom is 16 and struggling with his home life, he goes to library to keep out of the way where he meets pensioner Maggie and an unlikely friendship formed.

Loved it!

Here is that feel good genre that has no name again! It's the active senior and the outcast teen who find something special in each other, similar to [book:The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot|54798488]. But no one is dying in this book, instead the beloved library is being shut down. For many, this constitutes the same thing. As Tom and Maggie join the fight to save the library, they find themselves and face some hard facts about their lives. I loved reading along as the two fell instep with each other and showed that you don't need to be blood relatives to be family. This was a great heartwarming story with loveable characters. I smiled and even chuckled a few times while reading it. Definitely one for when you need a little cheering up yourself!

Heartwarming and engaging read by Bella Osborne, with a bildungsroman for not only the teen character Tom but also for the OAP firecracker Maggie, as they fight the closure of the local library. This is a lovely ode to bibliophilia, the magic of a library and the power of community action that reminded me of The Lido by Libby Page. It grapples beautifully with the theme of loneliness in older generations, alcoholism and parenting without straying into preaching or maudlin territory. Also great book recommendations for Tom who ventures into the wonderful world of chicklit!! Recommended this one a lot since finishing.

Once again, Bella Osborne has written another fabulous book. The Library follows the unlikely friendship of teenager Tom and pensioner Maggie as they rally their local community to try and save their library.

Tom is pretty much a nobody at school. Unseen and unheard. However he decides the only way for the gorgeous Farah to notice him, is if he gets a few tips by delving into the world of romantic fiction. It’s at the library he meets Maggie. She’s been alone for ten years since her husband passed away and thought she was happy, but her burgeoning friendship with Tom makes her realise differently. This novel had me hooked from page one. It’s a tale of friendship, community and belonging. It covers some difficult subjects but also has some humour in there too appealing to all readers. Thank you to NetGalley, Aria and the author for the chance to review.

The Library by Bella Osborne
Publisher: Aria fiction
Published date:
Kindle edition: 2nd September 2021
Paperback: 6th January 2022
What happens?
Maggie and Tom meet when she gets mugged. Despite the age gap between them (Maggie is in her seventies and Tom is a teenager), the pair develop a friendship at their local library. Could the secrets that Maggie hides threaten to come between them? When the library comes under threat, the pair join forces with the local community to try to save it, but will it be enough?

My thoughts
I picked this book to read for something different and The Library did not disappoint. For me, it was heartfelt and I followed both Maggie and Tom’s journey from the start, enjoying the positive effect that they had on each others lives. I liked the way the writer allowed the reader to really get to know each character through her depth of characterisation. Maggie wasn’t stereotyped for her age and Tom wasn’t presented as a typical teenager. I could clearly picture them in my head. I thought that the writer tackled some difficult topics with sensitivity and realism. It also looked at libraries and their place and importance in the community, as well as the current climate towards them. Having once been made redundant from a library, this topic is close to my heart. I thought that the writer drew attention to the difficulties that libraries can face without being too political. A thoughtful book which really showed that friendship has no age gap. 4.5 stars.
With thanks to Netgalley and Aria fiction for this ARC that I received in exchange or an honest review.