For a book whose major plot catalyst is suicide, this was a remarkably and expectedly positive reading experience. This book orbits around the question of what would one’s life look like if they made different choices–even insignificant ones, and it begs the reader to consider what is a life worth living and how is that defined. With short chapters and a modest page count, this is a quick, but satisfying read. It would also make for a good book club read with plenty of discussion material. It is also a book with universal appeal across demographics. The Midnight Library is a New York Times Bestseller.
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 5 religious exclamations; 8 mild obscenities; 5 derogatory names; 15 scatological words; 1 anatomical term; 25 F-Word derivatives.
Violence/Gore: There are cigarette burns on a dog that is now in a shelter; report of death by overdose; character sees self-inflicted wounds on her arms; report(s) of previous deaths of parents due to illness; report of death in car accident; character overdoses to commit suicide; death of a pet; reports of deaths of individuals.
Sex/Nudity: Character notes that a chihuahua is trying to have sex with her leg; references to third date sex; report of an affair; characters have sex, stated not described; joke about no unsolicited nude pics; character states that ducks have a penis shaped like a corkscrew; reference to boss touching leg and texting nude pics (unwanted advance); man and woman kiss; man kisses his husband on the check; man finds another man cute; wife and husband have sex (stated); mention that a man’s boyfriend was unfaithful; reference to man and his husband.
Mature Subject Matter:
Suicide; death of a parent; family estrangement; death by drug overdose; death of a friend; death of a pet.
Alcohols/Drug Use:
Character says that he has been drinking too much; 17-year-old goes to a party and has weed and beer; characters smoke; characters drink alcohol; characters run a tavern; reference to alcoholism; character drinks a bottle of gin every day; innuendo about a character being on drugs; report of a death by drug overdose; prescription drugs; pot.
