One thing that I want to do more of in my life is spend time in libraries. I feel like they are a place that we all need to take more time in. They are special. They can change the way that we think about things because they provide us a knowledge that we don’t get anywhere else.
And that’s a beautiful thing.
Over the course of owning this site, I have received a lot of books, but during the pandemic they’ve become more special thing to me. They’ve helped get through the past year of Covid and other issues.
When The Last Chance Library came into my life, I admit that I overlooked it for a bit. But one night, a glass of Prosecco, and a need to escape had me diving into its pages.
June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library, and through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way.
Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy English village where she grew up. Shy and reclusive, the thirty-year-old would rather spend her time buried in books than venture out into the world. But when her library is threatened with closure, June is forced to emerge from behind the shelves to save the heart of her community and the place that holds the dearest memories of her mother.
Joining a band of eccentric yet dedicated locals in a campaign to keep the library, June opens herself up to other people for the first time since her mother died. It just so happens that her old school friend Alex Chen is back in town and willing to lend a helping hand. The kindhearted lawyer’s feelings for her are obvious to everyone but June, who won’t believe that anyone could ever care for her in that way.
To save the place and the books that mean so much to her, June must finally make some changes to her life. For once, she’s determined not to go down without a fight. And maybe, in fighting for her cherished library, June can save herself, too.
The Last Chance Library is a devouring read – one that any bookworm with a love of libraries and looking for something that will leave you feeling good can get into. . But maybe for me, it was the character of June, who didn’t know how to find her place in this world. She’s lost her Mom, and when she’s faced with the prospect of loosing the place that has so much of her Mom’s spirit in it – she steps up.
June’s character development is a beautiful thing. You go from feeling bad for her to rooting for her to seeing a strength in her that you want to see in yourself. I think that it’s a beautiful thing for any writer to be able to have a character find their voice and use it so powerfully and so confidently.
But what really is the beauty of this story is you are able to see that one place can mean so much to so many people for different reasons. They all depend on the library for different reasons. I think that in life it’s always that way – the same place can mean a million different things to different people. We all need to look around the places that we go and see the way that it can foster a sense of community.
June sees that and it motivates her even more to save the library.
While the first half of the book moves along steady, but slow – the second half picks up and you can’t stop reading as you are wanting to see what happens to everyone. And yes, there is romance, but June and Alex aren’t the center of the story and that’s what I do really like. I needed a book that is all about community and the important things in life right now.
Author Freya Sampson weaves together a book that is filled with so many different emotions, but the central theme to me is community and how important it is. It’s themes are filled with heart and yes, the ending is a little predictable, but in an unpredictable word – I am for it.
The Last Chance Library is available now.