I feel like that gif of Stephen Colbert crying... my heart is going to burst because it's full of rainbows.

This book is absolutely lovely. It just came to me at absolutely the right time and wrapped me in a warm hug. It's a beautiful tale told in a comforting and compelling way. Something comfortable to wrap yourself up in. Cannot recommend enough.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

I can't enthuse enough about how wonderful this book is! What an absolute delight it was to read something so warm, funny, poignant, kind and absolutely endearing. I especially loved the connection between Tom aged 16 and Maggie in her 70's. For me it was so refreshing to have a story about two very different generations but to not have the older of those generations portrayed as a doddering, feeble old woman but as a feisty, independent, funny and lovable character. Maggie is such an amazing lady but her past hasn't always been smooth running as we learn in the book. Young Tom faces his own demons and insecurities and, in coming together to help save their precious library from closing, these two unlikely friends change one another's lives for the better. This is the first of Bella Osborne's books that I've read but I hope to read more by this author. An absolute breath of fresh air and a book that will live long in my heart and memory. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Tom is an awkward teenager who is at a major crossroad in his life. His mother passed away when he was eight. His dad is an Alcoholic. Maggie is seventy two ,lives alone. These two meet at the local library and becomes friends . The library is slated to be closed, Tom and Maggie wanted to save it.

This book was real wholesome one. I love Tom and especially Maggie. Their friendship was the highlight for me. The author did a a great job at describing what it feel likes to live with druken parent. The UK settings was superb. The book address many heavy topics like Alcoholic parents, family relationships, Grief, loss etc. But the writting was really simple. My only complaint is that the books was unnecessary long. Some part were not really relevant to the actual plot. Other than that it's was great read

The Library
Tom is a Sweet boy with a lack of social interaction with his peers at school. He's the quiet one who faded into the background. Tom's had a hard time of it and is opening up to Maggie.
Maggie is an older lady and part of the Library. She take a liking to this young boy and takes her under his wing. I would highly recommend reading this book to a young adult age range. Maggie also gives Tom some natural nature life lessons. This is a much needed read for all. I furtherly enjoyed this book. There some events I didn't expect but it really made me think and touched my heart strings.

I enjoyed this book. It was a predictable one in that the village library was threatened with closure and different generations, from differing backgrounds came together to stop this happening. However, it was a little more complicated than this and there were a number of well woven twists along the way.

In some ways it is an issues and a coming of age novel . Tom Harris starts by saying he is invisible. He has already had to deal with the death of his mother and much more besides. It is a book about bereavement, about adoption and meeting blood relatives, about misunderstandings and about alcoholism and its effects. It is not light handed over these issues but it does deal with them head on and in a positive manner.

Most of the characters were realistic and likeable, the contrast between homes was interestingly brought about. There are light hearted moments and some that almost brought me to tears.

It will be a popular book for adults, sadly I do not feel many teenagers will read it. If they did they would learn a great deal about the opposite sex and find suggestions as to how they should unwind.

This is my favorite book of the year so far. I loved the characters, the setting and the themes. A feel good, uplifting book that brightened a gloomy January. I will recommend to everyone I know!

This was so good. I loved the characters of Tom and Maggie. I really didn't want to put this one down when I got to the end. 

When Tom goes to the village library, he wants to just go someplace where he can study and hide from his father. When he gets there though, he ends up lying about his past and is offered romance novels to read by the local librarian and an elderly woman named Maggie who goes to the book club there. Maggie finds herself looking forward to the weekly visits of Tom to the library. And Tom finds himself looking forward to the books being offered and the friendship. 

I honestly don't have anything to say except Tom and Maggie were lovely. Tom's home life is hard. So is his school life. His father is an alcoholic who is only focused on Tom going to work at the local dog food plant and doesn't know why his son has dreams of anything else. Maggie is lonely after her husband's death 10 years earlier, and Tom brings back memories of her son. The two of them together are in turns hilarious and heartbreaking.

I also loved the books that Tom is provided and reads such as Georgette Heyer, Jojo Moyes, and others. He starts to branch off into other genres, but still loves his romance books. 

The flow of the book was great. Chapters alternate between Tom and Maggie. 

The setting of the village feels at times very cozy. But I loved reading the most about Maggie's farm house. It feels magical. 

The ending was lovely I thought.

For those who love books, who doesn’t love to read a book that focuses on a library as being responsible for bringing people together and giving a sense of home? This book surprised me and I absolutely loved it! So many varied characters that were very well developed. I certainly enjoyed getting to know them and follow their journeys. This is a book about fighting for what you believe in, what you think is important and also not taking what you have for granted.

Tom is a high school boy, invisible to most and that what he likes. Having lost his mother, he is living with only his alcoholic father, where his home life is absolutely and miserably sad. Tom has a crush on a girl at school and in hopes of running in to her, he visits the local library. There he meets Maggie, a pensioner and former hippie. Maggie is a widow and her one respite each week is to come to the library to see people at her book club. Maggie and Tom are so alike, both lonely people, that they bond and become friends. Maggie becomes the friend to whom he confides and needs to help him navigate the bumps in his life. But Tom also becomes Maggie’s lifeline that has been missing from her own. However, the Library is in peril of being closed down. Maggie and Tom decide to protest this and with the help of some other library patrons seek to prove that it is worthy to stay open.

I could not put this down as the story drew me in from the very start. It is just such a great story. You can’t but help to root for Tom as he grows in confidence and finds his way. You applaud and admire Maggie as breaking away from the stereotypes of being old and showing what a courageous, empathetic, and kind woman that she is. You can’t but help feel the pain from the characters like Tom’s father. Also, a shout out to all the books mentioned that were recommended in the library. And I love the message that Maggie states:
“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.”

Many thanks to #netgalley #thelibrary #bellaosborne for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Books set around libraries have almost become a sub-genre in their own right! LIkewise novels where a young person and an old person become friends and save each other from loneliness. This novel combines both; Teenager Tom, with a difficult home life, meets elderly Maggie, whose favourite place is the library and her friends are the books and their characters. The two become friends and team up to save the library when it is threatened with closure. an elderly woman who spends her free time at the local library. Gentle and well-written, with lovable characters and emotions that find their way into the reader's heart. Thankyou to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital advance review copy.

I really enjoyed reading this story whilst on holiday , I wish the author all the best with this book and thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the arc of this book

Tom Harris is sixteen years old, has no close friends, and lost his mother when he was eight years old. His father is a depressed factory worker who drowns his sorrows in booze. A accidental encounter with Maggie, 72, at the library changes everything. Maggie is a 1960s flower girl who raises animals on her modest farm. A remarkable link is formed, which opens up a new world for Tom, and the new friendship brightens Maggie's life. Maggie and Tom get to work as soon as they learn that their library will be closed. This isn't just a "rescue the library" scenario, though. It's a heartfelt storey of two people who assist each other fill a void in their lives.

Really hits close to home and such a wonderful "up-lit" story!
Just what we all need!

Can I love a book based on title alone? As a book lover, of course I was reaching for a book called "The Library". After all, the library is one of my favorite places to be! In this one, a local library is at risk of closure and two unlikely friends band together to save it. Tom is a teenager who feel invisible and has had a rough life. Maggie is 72 years old and has been living alone for about 10 years, her only companions the animals she cares for. When the two meet, they turn out to be just what the other needs.

This book handles themes such as grief, loss, alcoholism, family relationships, friendship, and hope. While managing heavy topics, it's a really sweet story and one that will inspire you to reach out to others. At some points, I felt like it was maybe a bit too long and sometimes the plot seemed to move off-point, but overall I enjoyed the gentleness of the story and appreciated this unlikely character duo. I particularly loved Maggie!

Thank you to Aria & Aries and Netgalley for the ARC!

I loved this right from the very beginning. I loved the characters and they had great character development. I loved Tom and Maggie`s friendship and just how much they needed one another. I loved the way this was written, it`s one of those books that`s light-hearted and easy to read, one you can easily get hooked into and binge read. The ending was incredibly sweet and heart-warming too.

Great to see a book about a community coming together to save their local village library. It reminded me of efforts in my town when lots of our libraries were threatened with closure. A good story.

The Library by Bella Osborne is a change of direction for Bella. It really captured my heart and I honestly did not want it to end.

The story follows, in alternating chapters, two users of the village library. Tom is 16 and is missing the support of his late mum who died when he was 8. In an effort to reconnect with her he joins the library and borrows romance books as his Mum loved them.

Maggie is in her 70s, and runs a smallholding alone, and is a member of the library book club who meet once a week.

When an incident brings Tom and Maggie together an unusual friendship develops between them.

Getting so much from the library they begin a campaign to save the library and bring the community together. Although there were some tough moments and some very serious issuess covered in this book, it was such a warm story with a very special friendship at its core.

I loved the time they spent on Maggie’s smallholding, and I adored the Jacobs. This story really made me think of my late mum because she had a smallholding that had chickens and a pedigree flock of Jacob sheep, including a very boisterous ram a lot like Colin.

Tom was such a sensitive young man and was the perfect foil for feisty pensioner Maggie. They both got so much out of their unlikely connection, and both helped one another immensely.

I loved this story, with its strong central characters and the library front and centre. By the end of the story it made me determined to make the most of my local library before it is too late. There is a part of me that hopes I find a Maggie there.

This is the story of a teenage boy Tom, and an older, retired woman named Maggie. Tom has found himself as a new regular visitor of the library as a source of escape from home and uncovers an unknown love of all things reading. Maggie is a regular at the library and book club, and quickly befriends Tom. A unique friendship blossoms as the two gradually get to know each other and share more about themselves.
When news of a potential closure of the community's library hits the news, the two band together to help support the building that has helped create their friendship and maintain community.

Oh my goodness, what a lovely, lovely read! I just adored this book so much. Bella Osborne’s writing seems so natural and effortless that you just lose yourself in this wonderful story of friendship and family. She perfectly captures Tom’s teenage awkwardness and Maggie’s aching loneliness. I adored both characters and the setting of Maggie’s farm sounded glorious! I wish I was there…

This book doesn’t shy away from sadness and reading about Tom’s father’s alcoholism was really painful at times. However, there is so much warmth and love in this book that my heart was warmed so many times throughout.

I loved the references to the books Tom was reading and ad a secret smile whenever one of my favourites was mentioned. It definitely made me want to utilise my local library a lot more, they are such important spaces and if we don’t use them, we’ll lose them!

I definitely recommend this book and am so thankful to the publishers for bringing it to my attention.

Trigger warning: alcoholism

Since Covid-19’s not going away, many of my book loving friends have been asking for light, uplifting reads that are not complete fluff. I can’t wait to tell them about The Library. Told in two voices, Tom is a teenager trying to survive life with his widowed alcoholic father. Maggie is a 70 year old former flower child with a small sheep farm and large garden. Each is feeling alone and lonely. When they meet at the library, their lives entwine and change in ways they never would have imagined. When the council threatens to close the library, they are determined to fight it. Read this book for all the positive feels.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A story of how two people of vastly different generations - one a youngster, a bit brash, definitely unused to social
situations and how to mix with people and then we have Maggie - a loner, running a run down farm with sheep and hens
and managing somehow. They meet in the library because this is where Tom hopes to fix an interest with a girl but he
does not have a clue how to go about it. Tom has issues with his father who has got into a slump of drinking and working
and sleeping and who has no idea how to show affection to his son who is also suffering all alone, after his mother passed
away.

It does not seem that there is common ground for an acquaintance to grow but rescuing Maggie from a hoodlum who snatches her bag sets events in motion and the library setting helps the two characters along. Tom evolves into a helping caring person and Maggie finds companionship and friendship with an unlikely teenager. The bits and pieces in between add so much interest - especially when the library is threatened with closure and how a community comes together to try to save it.

Very nice reading. A matter of fact look at life from two sides of the age divide.

Firstly, thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review🥰

Tom is your average 16 year old, awkward and stressed about his future. Maggie is a 72 year old woman, struggling with lonliness and working her farm alone. A chance meeting after a trip to the local library gets them talking and soon their teaming up to help save the library from being closed!

I really enjoyed this book. It was nothing like I was expecting (in a good way). It made me laugh and cry. It turned out to be less about saving the library than I originally thought but I still enjoyed it because Maggie and Tom's weird little friendship was so sweet.

Theres a few heavy topics covered throughout the book, between Tom's father being an alcoholic, the fact Tom lost his mum at a young age, their spiralling debt and then Maggie's loneliness and her loosing her son. I though they were all handled really well and the way the author depicted living with an alcoholic was beautifully handled, it wasn't brushed off or just metioned once and then forgotten about like I've seen so many other books do.

Over all rating - 4⭐