The New Town Librarian

This story was so much more than I was expecting. I’m a reader, I love getting books from the library, I expected the book to be pleasant, enjoyable.

Instead, it was great! I sat down to start it - and had to be almost physically pulled away only about 40 pages from the end to go to an appointment.

The protagonist, Nan, drew me in from the start and the story very quickly moved to the new town, the characters, the living situation, the job situation, the colleagues, the challenges, the growth, the empathy, the growing bonds among so many people . . . .

The characters were well drawn with enough specific details to easily remember them as they reappeared, and their backstory came in small doses as it was needed in the story.

I enjoyed learning bits and pieces of librarianship / administration. Mostly I appreciated how Nan used both her knowledge and experience – and her caring heart - to guide the other characters toward the right choices and actions – and toward other characters. The story progressed effortlessly, with new plotlines arising organically and weaving in among the others. Most of all, Nan’s character arc was a joy to behold, and her role in helping people in various meaningful ways really was heartwarming.

I’ll close by reiterating: this book was so much more, and better, and deeper, and richer, than I had anticipated from the blurb. Highly recommend. And I hope the author writes more books.

I totally loved this book! I always enjoy books that take place in the library, this one had so many colorful characters but the Nan was the one who i really liked. She definitely had very strong ideas about everything, especially for all her plans once she started her new job in the small town library, she met all kinds of people, stayed overwhelmed for a while and was always talking to herself about how things should be. She ended up learning alot of things about herself along the way and about the people she was around daily and her life changed for the better.

There were alot of interesting things happening in this book and quiet a few surprises as well. I thought that it had the best ending and everything got wrapped up nicely, it was a very heartwarming story which made me laugh out loud through the entire book! Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC!

This book was absolutely adorable. It took me a while to get through because I’m not a fan of third person point of view, but it was worth it. An ode to all small town stories, it had everything from pages filled to the brim with unexpected characters, to finding yourself where you least expect it.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550975

A fun and quirky book with whimsical characters. Nan was a hoot. You will glean what librarians deal with on a daily basis and hopefully treat them and your local libraries better .