Dear Fellow Reader,

Welcome to March!  A month of madness? That seems to be what it is famous for but this year it has so much more – Spring Forward, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter – a whole cornucopia of spring!  Get out the patent leather shoes! 

Meanwhile, I am sitting here warming my hands on a cup of tea!  It is sometimes hard to overcome the damp, cold here in the Midwest.

I am happy to tell you about this week’s book. It is the fifth book by Jennifer Ryan. No, they are not a series, but all take place in England during World War II. I know I read The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle and I think I read The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir. So, let’s break convention here and tell you that I like these books. Yes, I know that I profess to be sick of historical fiction. And in some ways, I am. But these books are really character-driven. While the historical background is there, these characters are living in the setting, they aren’t there to support the setting.

The Underground Library has three main characters and several supporting characters. Juliet Lansdown has left her parents and hometown to move to the Bethnal Green section of London to work at the library there. She had worked at the library in her hometown and loved it. She has hopes that it will be even better in Bethnal Green. Katie Upwood works at the library for the summer before she goes to the University. She is only allowed to study at the University because so many of the students are off to war, but she is bright and can’t wait to go. Sofie Baumann, is a refugee from Germany. She has come to Bethnal Green to be a domestic worker – the only way she could get out of Germany. She is not in a good situation but the day she comes to the library, she finds friends and support.

Soon into the story, the Germans start bombing London and each night the residents must leave their homes and go to shelter. The Underground soon becomes the shelter of choice. When the library is bombed, the friends gather around and move books to the Underground. Juliet starts some programs that become extremely popular like a time each night for reading aloud and eventually a school.

Our three main characters each face choices they never could have anticipated and despite rocky times, they find that their friendships keep them floating in the sea of hard times.

I was given an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on March 12^th.