What do you think?
Rate this book
Library Girl
A Pacific Northwest Indie Bestseller!
After secretly living in the public library for the last eleven years, Essie must learn to adapt to a world that's not as perfect as the stories she's grown up with in this heartfelt middle-grade novel from Newbery Honor author Polly Horvath.
Essie has grown up in the public library, raised in secret by the four librarians who found her abandoned as a baby in the children's department. With four mothers and miles of books to read, Essie has always been very happy living there.
But now that she is eleven, Essie longs for a little more freedom . . . and maybe a friend her own age. She seems to get her wish when her moms let her go by herself to the mall and then on her second trip there, she meets G.E., a mysterious boy who looks so much like her she can't help but think they may be twins. Maybe he was raised by four dads in the department store. Maybe his story is intertwined with hers, and their happy ending is as one big family. But as she gets to know him better, she learns that nothing is as simple as it seems in her stories — not even her own past.
After secretly living in the public library for the last eleven years, Essie must learn to adapt to a world that's not as perfect as the stories she's grown up with in this heartfelt middle-grade novel from Newbery Honor author Polly Horvath.
Essie has grown up in the public library, raised in secret by the four librarians who found her abandoned as a baby in the children's department. With four mothers and miles of books to read, Essie has always been very happy living there.
But now that she is eleven, Essie longs for a little more freedom . . . and maybe a friend her own age. She seems to get her wish when her moms let her go by herself to the mall and then on her second trip there, she meets G.E., a mysterious boy who looks so much like her she can't help but think they may be twins. Maybe he was raised by four dads in the department store. Maybe his story is intertwined with hers, and their happy ending is as one big family. But as she gets to know him better, she learns that nothing is as simple as it seems in her stories — not even her own past.
Audible Audio
Published September 10, 2024
36 people are currently reading
4462 people want to read
About the author
Polly Horvath
45 books300 followersPolly Horvath is the author of many books for young people, including Everything on a Waffle, The Pepins and Their Problems, The Canning Season and The Trolls. Her numerous awards include the Newbery Honor, the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature, the Mr. Christie Award, the international White Raven, and the Young Adult Canadian Book of the Year. Horvath grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She attended the Canadian College of Dance in Toronto and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York City. She has taught ballet, waitressed, done temporary typing, and tended babies, but while doing these things she has always also written. Now that her children are in school, she spends the whole day writing, unless she sneaks out to buy groceries, lured away from her desk by the thought of fresh Cheez Whiz. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and two daughters.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/pollyh...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/pollyh...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
April 22, 2024
✰ 2.5 stars ✰
“Everything that happens only happens in your own head anyway, so a fictional family is as good as a real one. At least you know how the story ends.
But this wasn’t entirely convincing. In fact, it wasn’t convincing at all.”
It is a rare and rather dismal day when a middle-grade read leaves me as conflicted as Library Girl has after I completed my first-ever Polly Horvath book. While I do think the premise is a fantastical and unique one, 4 female librarians finding an abandoned baby in the outskirts of the children's section and then raising her in secret for the past eleven years, I feel that many of the concepts and ideas addressed in the book were not quite suitable for a middle-grade-read, let alone ones that felt oddly rewarding in the end.. I don't know - maybe my expected standards for what certifies as a middle-grade read differ from others, so maybe my disappointment is mainly my own personal grievances, to no fault of the story, itself. 😔
“Perhaps I am no good at this. There is only so far that book learning can take you. Perhaps when you’ve been brought up on books, you will never fit into the real world properly.”
For what the author did excel at portraying was how said orphan, eleven-year-old Essie, reacted and behaved when she was given the opportunity to venture out into the world beyond that of the library. That, while her pseudo-mothers were facing difficult odds to thwart snooping assistants that started to sense something was amiss with Essie's daily habitual presence in the library, Essie was facing the real world for the first time - interacted with others and getting acquainted with the facets and aspects of daily life she was not so very well-versed in. 👍🏻 With a genuine curiosity and a penchant for seeking out a meaningful connection with someone who she could truly feel was related to her, Essie's wide-eyed naivete and innocence felt believable and understandable. 🥺
I didn't like when she was easily duped by others' convincing acts, even if it was an important lesson for her to learn. I felt bad for her; I felt bad that everything that she had clung to in books - the happy existence of a life that had never been hers - the dream that she, too could be part of a family - could have been so easily shattered at its first chance. 😥 That even if my heart believes it was to make it be as realistic as possible (which, seems like such a stretch, considering the very premise of the story) it did not feel like a sound closure that seemed justified or more worthwhile for what she had to go through to learn about the truths of herself and how she ended up as a library girl. 📚
Aside from Essie, I did not care for any of the characters - not the four librarians who kept her because they felt that they would never get the opportunity to be mothers of their own, not G.E. - the young boy Essie saw a striking resemblance in herself that led her to believe he could be her long-lost twin., not even Mr.Fellows, who ended up playing a more pivotal part to the story than what I had originally thought. In fact, I wish I could have smacked G.E - it's been awhile since I have had the misfortune to read a character I so viscerally disliked. 😤 I also don't know how I feel about the storyline of four women being set-up to marry four other men - one of the major things that didn't quite sit well with me, in regards to a middle-grade read; or maybe, I'm just too old-fashioned. 🤷🏻♀️
“But ever since she had ventured into the big world outside the library, she had found small disappointments and things that went wrong, pieces that didn’t tie up neatly and endings that were not happy, questions that were not answered and, all in all, real life not as satisfactory as book life.”
The overall feeling of the book didn't give off a hopeful or positive vibe, and I think that is what surprised me; that the moral of the story felt like such a dismal one for Essie to realize. That, perhaps, she was more content and happier with her life by being in the shadows and out of sight, rather than all that she learned and experienced once she came into the spotlight. 😟 'The trouble with me, she thought, is that I want things to be like in books. I have read so many of them and had so little experience in the real world that I expect everything to be neat and tidy.' As much as she wanted to be surrounded by a big family that accepted and cared for her - the path to such a wish was paved with such ill intentions that much like Essie - I didn't quite get the satisfaction I was hoping for. 🙎🏻♀️
What really hit the nail on the chalkboard for me, though, was how disgruntled and how dismayed I was at the events that began to unfold towards the end of the book; nothing made me happy - if anything, it made me as upset as Essie was feeling at the instance she discovered just how impossible and improbable, if not unwelcoming, real life really was. 🙁 Like a lingering bad taste in my mouth, none of the characters felt redeemable or deserving of forgiveness, which further troubled me for what lesson I was exactly supposed to take away from this. 'She began to wonder if there was a point at all to having a life that hadn’t been written for you.' No one was apologetic, no one even seemed to take into account how much of what has happened has affected Essie's mental health - it all seemed rather morbid with a sense of dark humor to it - almost mean-spirited - that no one really seemed to empathize or sympathize with Essie's feelings or plight at all. 😞
I didn't hold much stock to the rather abrupt, if not summary of an ending that left me confused as if the author had intended to continue these characters in another story. It was the only likely reason I could think of for how dissatisfied I felt with the overall resolution of the story, and which further prevented me from appreciating the writing itself. The cover is quite cute, though; which is a shame at how not so very cute the story actually felt to me. 🙍🏻♀️ Maybe as my first try with this author, I was not quite well-acquainted with their particular style of writing, which very well may be true to what they're usually prone to write. Be that as it may, I don't regret giving it a shot, just rather disappointed that it wasn't exactly a heart-warming read - even if it was already forewarned that Essie was to learn that life was not as simple as it may be. 😔
*Thank you to Edelweiss for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
“Everything that happens only happens in your own head anyway, so a fictional family is as good as a real one. At least you know how the story ends.
But this wasn’t entirely convincing. In fact, it wasn’t convincing at all.”
It is a rare and rather dismal day when a middle-grade read leaves me as conflicted as Library Girl has after I completed my first-ever Polly Horvath book. While I do think the premise is a fantastical and unique one, 4 female librarians finding an abandoned baby in the outskirts of the children's section and then raising her in secret for the past eleven years, I feel that many of the concepts and ideas addressed in the book were not quite suitable for a middle-grade-read, let alone ones that felt oddly rewarding in the end.. I don't know - maybe my expected standards for what certifies as a middle-grade read differ from others, so maybe my disappointment is mainly my own personal grievances, to no fault of the story, itself. 😔
“Perhaps I am no good at this. There is only so far that book learning can take you. Perhaps when you’ve been brought up on books, you will never fit into the real world properly.”
For what the author did excel at portraying was how said orphan, eleven-year-old Essie, reacted and behaved when she was given the opportunity to venture out into the world beyond that of the library. That, while her pseudo-mothers were facing difficult odds to thwart snooping assistants that started to sense something was amiss with Essie's daily habitual presence in the library, Essie was facing the real world for the first time - interacted with others and getting acquainted with the facets and aspects of daily life she was not so very well-versed in. 👍🏻 With a genuine curiosity and a penchant for seeking out a meaningful connection with someone who she could truly feel was related to her, Essie's wide-eyed naivete and innocence felt believable and understandable. 🥺
I didn't like when she was easily duped by others' convincing acts, even if it was an important lesson for her to learn. I felt bad for her; I felt bad that everything that she had clung to in books - the happy existence of a life that had never been hers - the dream that she, too could be part of a family - could have been so easily shattered at its first chance. 😥 That even if my heart believes it was to make it be as realistic as possible (which, seems like such a stretch, considering the very premise of the story) it did not feel like a sound closure that seemed justified or more worthwhile for what she had to go through to learn about the truths of herself and how she ended up as a library girl. 📚
Aside from Essie, I did not care for any of the characters - not the four librarians who kept her because they felt that they would never get the opportunity to be mothers of their own, not G.E. - the young boy Essie saw a striking resemblance in herself that led her to believe he could be her long-lost twin., not even Mr.Fellows, who ended up playing a more pivotal part to the story than what I had originally thought. In fact, I wish I could have smacked G.E - it's been awhile since I have had the misfortune to read a character I so viscerally disliked. 😤 I also don't know how I feel about the storyline of four women being set-up to marry four other men - one of the major things that didn't quite sit well with me, in regards to a middle-grade read; or maybe, I'm just too old-fashioned. 🤷🏻♀️
“But ever since she had ventured into the big world outside the library, she had found small disappointments and things that went wrong, pieces that didn’t tie up neatly and endings that were not happy, questions that were not answered and, all in all, real life not as satisfactory as book life.”
The overall feeling of the book didn't give off a hopeful or positive vibe, and I think that is what surprised me; that the moral of the story felt like such a dismal one for Essie to realize. That, perhaps, she was more content and happier with her life by being in the shadows and out of sight, rather than all that she learned and experienced once she came into the spotlight. 😟 'The trouble with me, she thought, is that I want things to be like in books. I have read so many of them and had so little experience in the real world that I expect everything to be neat and tidy.' As much as she wanted to be surrounded by a big family that accepted and cared for her - the path to such a wish was paved with such ill intentions that much like Essie - I didn't quite get the satisfaction I was hoping for. 🙎🏻♀️
What really hit the nail on the chalkboard for me, though, was how disgruntled and how dismayed I was at the events that began to unfold towards the end of the book; nothing made me happy - if anything, it made me as upset as Essie was feeling at the instance she discovered just how impossible and improbable, if not unwelcoming, real life really was. 🙁 Like a lingering bad taste in my mouth, none of the characters felt redeemable or deserving of forgiveness, which further troubled me for what lesson I was exactly supposed to take away from this. 'She began to wonder if there was a point at all to having a life that hadn’t been written for you.' No one was apologetic, no one even seemed to take into account how much of what has happened has affected Essie's mental health - it all seemed rather morbid with a sense of dark humor to it - almost mean-spirited - that no one really seemed to empathize or sympathize with Essie's feelings or plight at all. 😞
I didn't hold much stock to the rather abrupt, if not summary of an ending that left me confused as if the author had intended to continue these characters in another story. It was the only likely reason I could think of for how dissatisfied I felt with the overall resolution of the story, and which further prevented me from appreciating the writing itself. The cover is quite cute, though; which is a shame at how not so very cute the story actually felt to me. 🙍🏻♀️ Maybe as my first try with this author, I was not quite well-acquainted with their particular style of writing, which very well may be true to what they're usually prone to write. Be that as it may, I don't regret giving it a shot, just rather disappointed that it wasn't exactly a heart-warming read - even if it was already forewarned that Essie was to learn that life was not as simple as it may be. 😔
*Thank you to Edelweiss for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
December 7, 2024
I love love love books, reading etc., and because I also absolutely adore middle grade fiction, my partner bought me Polly Horvath's September 2024 novel Library Girl as a an early Christmas present. For he knows and appreciates my bookishness and thought the cover image of Library Girl looked appealing (and that Library Girl would for said reason also likely be to my reading tastes). And since very much like my partner, I also found the book cover for Library Girl promising, I did start my perusal with much anticipation and positive expectations.
And no, I did not in fact read the book synopsis before starting with Library Girl, I just popped open the book and started reading, since if I had indeed read the synopsis, I might actually never have started reading Library Girl in the first place. Because and sadly, my above mentioned positive expectations regarding Library Girl have not even remotely been met, and that after feeling ever increasingly textually frustrated with both the thematics and the contents of Library Girl (and kind of from page one in fact), I am quitting with total annoyance at page one-hundred and am considering (am shelving) Library Girl as yet another did not finish (or rather was not able to not finish) book. For while Horvath's writing style for Library Girl certainly is nicely quirky and that main protagonist Esmeralda (Essie) is also kind of a kindred spirit in many ways (especially with her love of reading), sorry, but the implausibility of what Polly Horvath writes in Library Girl just does not AT ALL work for me (and that I therefore also do not want to waste more of my precious and currently also rather limited reading time on Library Girl). Because indeed and I am sorry (but also not all that sorry) to say, that Library Girl is about Essie actually being raised and living in a public library, this feels majorly, feels one hundred percent unbelievable, and that I for one always want and in fact even need my realistic fiction to be plausible, that I really only like fiction storylines that are unbelievable and unrealistic when I am reading fantasy or folk and fairy tales (and Library Girl is clearly not meant to be the latter).
I mean, technically speaking, Library Girl feels like Horvath means Essie's story to be considered as being realistic fiction. But because the themes and even more so the specific contents of Library Girl are so improbable, I am (and both my inner child and my older adult reading self totally agree here) just not able and equally not willing to suspend my sense of annoyed disbelief regarding Horvath's presented text and her storytelling (the premise of a girl being secretly raised in the Huffington Public Library by four single women and furthermore that four single men are also raising a boy who looks like said girl's twin in a nearby shopping mall), I honestly have felt no reading pleasure and joy at all emanating from Library Girl (except liking how much Essie like me adores reading), and that even though I have not managed to finish Library Girl, I have most definitely read quite enough to consider Library Girl as simply too unrealistic for my reading tastes and as such an annoying and only two star reading experience (although I do think readers who are able and willing not to be bothered by how unbelievable and improbable Polly Horvath's words for Library Girl are, they will likely enjoy Library Girl, even though I certainly have not and as such also strongly stand by my two star rating and critical review).
And no, I did not in fact read the book synopsis before starting with Library Girl, I just popped open the book and started reading, since if I had indeed read the synopsis, I might actually never have started reading Library Girl in the first place. Because and sadly, my above mentioned positive expectations regarding Library Girl have not even remotely been met, and that after feeling ever increasingly textually frustrated with both the thematics and the contents of Library Girl (and kind of from page one in fact), I am quitting with total annoyance at page one-hundred and am considering (am shelving) Library Girl as yet another did not finish (or rather was not able to not finish) book. For while Horvath's writing style for Library Girl certainly is nicely quirky and that main protagonist Esmeralda (Essie) is also kind of a kindred spirit in many ways (especially with her love of reading), sorry, but the implausibility of what Polly Horvath writes in Library Girl just does not AT ALL work for me (and that I therefore also do not want to waste more of my precious and currently also rather limited reading time on Library Girl). Because indeed and I am sorry (but also not all that sorry) to say, that Library Girl is about Essie actually being raised and living in a public library, this feels majorly, feels one hundred percent unbelievable, and that I for one always want and in fact even need my realistic fiction to be plausible, that I really only like fiction storylines that are unbelievable and unrealistic when I am reading fantasy or folk and fairy tales (and Library Girl is clearly not meant to be the latter).
I mean, technically speaking, Library Girl feels like Horvath means Essie's story to be considered as being realistic fiction. But because the themes and even more so the specific contents of Library Girl are so improbable, I am (and both my inner child and my older adult reading self totally agree here) just not able and equally not willing to suspend my sense of annoyed disbelief regarding Horvath's presented text and her storytelling (the premise of a girl being secretly raised in the Huffington Public Library by four single women and furthermore that four single men are also raising a boy who looks like said girl's twin in a nearby shopping mall), I honestly have felt no reading pleasure and joy at all emanating from Library Girl (except liking how much Essie like me adores reading), and that even though I have not managed to finish Library Girl, I have most definitely read quite enough to consider Library Girl as simply too unrealistic for my reading tastes and as such an annoying and only two star reading experience (although I do think readers who are able and willing not to be bothered by how unbelievable and improbable Polly Horvath's words for Library Girl are, they will likely enjoy Library Girl, even though I certainly have not and as such also strongly stand by my two star rating and critical review).
October 31, 2024
Oh, I have such mixed feelings on this one. I owned a paperback copy of Polly Horvath's The Trolls as a child, and I read that book until it physically fell apart. When the reviews came out for this one, I was skeptical. A child raised in a library by librarians, who has never left the library or been discovered by the library's director? Difficult for me, an adult librarian, to believe. But kids care less about realism and more about the, admittedly, pretty cool concept of being raised in a library.
Reading this, I realized why I liked Polly Horvath so much as a kid. There's plenty of whimsy and charm to be found. Details like Essie's bond with older library patron Oscar and her one-woman re-enactments of Shakespeare plays were just so delightful. Horvath sometimes drops nuggets of wisdom into the book, gently enough that it doesn't feel didactic. The themes, like found family and the importance of story, will resonate with lots of kiddos.
However. I felt like I was reading a book from 1954, not 2024. There's just some odd stuff in here, like random unnecessary conversations about dieting and the repeated mention of a woman antagonist's large feet, that felt more Roald Dahl than contemporary. At one point Essie panics because she mentions her "mothers" to Oscar and thinks that will give away her unusual living situation, but it's 2024, babe, everyone knows some kids have two moms. That wasn't actually a weird thing to say, and it felt honestly a tad homophobic that the text didn't acknowledge that Essie could have covered that slip-up pretty easily.
Gender stuff aside, the references here are also hopelessly outdated. Essie regularly goes to a soda shop to drink phosphates, which would be fine if this were in fact set in 1954, but it appears to be more recent based on the reference to the Harry Potter series. That brings me to another thing that drives me nuts in this and other middle grade novels, when the contemporary child main character is supposed to be a big reader but the only specific books and authors referenced are ones old enough that the author would have read them in their childhood. Like sure, there are books that stand the test of time, but you're telling me a kid raised in a library in 2024 has never picked up Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Dog Man? The Magic Tree House, at least? The Harry Potter reference stood out because it was the most recent kids' book reference by several decades. I, a person with an MLIS who took a whole class on the history of children's literature, had to look up some of the books and authors that Essie supposedly loved because they were so old and no longer popular, so I had never heard of them.
This is a book that technically qualifies as realistic fiction, but because the events are so implausible (and not just the premise; you really mean to tell me that four random single women and four random single men happened to partner up perfectly the second they met and then liked each other enough to get engaged? Sure, Jan.), I think I would be cautious to hand it to a kid who asked for realistic fiction. I'm actually not sure who the audience is here at all. I guess bookish adults who are nostalgic for old Polly Horvath books. I could imagine a middle grade reader who loves books/libraries and some whimsy in their stories being into this. Readalikes to me are the aforementioned Roald Dahl and Eva Ibbotson, who both wrote actual fantasy, whereas this has a fantasy tone without any actual magic. So that's a harder sell, I think.
Not sure this one will be flying off the shelves, tbh.
Reading this, I realized why I liked Polly Horvath so much as a kid. There's plenty of whimsy and charm to be found. Details like Essie's bond with older library patron Oscar and her one-woman re-enactments of Shakespeare plays were just so delightful. Horvath sometimes drops nuggets of wisdom into the book, gently enough that it doesn't feel didactic. The themes, like found family and the importance of story, will resonate with lots of kiddos.
However. I felt like I was reading a book from 1954, not 2024. There's just some odd stuff in here, like random unnecessary conversations about dieting and the repeated mention of a woman antagonist's large feet, that felt more Roald Dahl than contemporary. At one point Essie panics because she mentions her "mothers" to Oscar and thinks that will give away her unusual living situation, but it's 2024, babe, everyone knows some kids have two moms. That wasn't actually a weird thing to say, and it felt honestly a tad homophobic that the text didn't acknowledge that Essie could have covered that slip-up pretty easily.
Gender stuff aside, the references here are also hopelessly outdated. Essie regularly goes to a soda shop to drink phosphates, which would be fine if this were in fact set in 1954, but it appears to be more recent based on the reference to the Harry Potter series. That brings me to another thing that drives me nuts in this and other middle grade novels, when the contemporary child main character is supposed to be a big reader but the only specific books and authors referenced are ones old enough that the author would have read them in their childhood. Like sure, there are books that stand the test of time, but you're telling me a kid raised in a library in 2024 has never picked up Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Dog Man? The Magic Tree House, at least? The Harry Potter reference stood out because it was the most recent kids' book reference by several decades. I, a person with an MLIS who took a whole class on the history of children's literature, had to look up some of the books and authors that Essie supposedly loved because they were so old and no longer popular, so I had never heard of them.
This is a book that technically qualifies as realistic fiction, but because the events are so implausible (and not just the premise; you really mean to tell me that four random single women and four random single men happened to partner up perfectly the second they met and then liked each other enough to get engaged? Sure, Jan.), I think I would be cautious to hand it to a kid who asked for realistic fiction. I'm actually not sure who the audience is here at all. I guess bookish adults who are nostalgic for old Polly Horvath books. I could imagine a middle grade reader who loves books/libraries and some whimsy in their stories being into this. Readalikes to me are the aforementioned Roald Dahl and Eva Ibbotson, who both wrote actual fantasy, whereas this has a fantasy tone without any actual magic. So that's a harder sell, I think.
Not sure this one will be flying off the shelves, tbh.
July 30, 2025
People took this book too seriously.
September 26, 2024
3.5!
I really enjoyed the concept of this novel. It was fun and quirky, and I think it’s great for an older/mature middle grade audience. I liked the adult-like humour sprinkled in here!
I think the ending was a little out there for me, and I wasn’t a fan of how it all went down. I’m not really sure what the lesson is here other than forgiveness. But other than that, I think it was a reallly sweet book!
I really enjoyed the concept of this novel. It was fun and quirky, and I think it’s great for an older/mature middle grade audience. I liked the adult-like humour sprinkled in here!
I think the ending was a little out there for me, and I wasn’t a fan of how it all went down. I’m not really sure what the lesson is here other than forgiveness. But other than that, I think it was a reallly sweet book!
November 25, 2024
I mean, this book is obviously a delight.
did-not-finish
January 18, 2025I desperately wanted to love this book, and did for the first 40ish pages, especially as a read aloud for elementary kiddos. But what the heck with the diet culture fat phobia BS??
page 45:
“”Nonsense!” said Doris - she was on a diet. She always wore dresses but wanted to wear jeans. She realized if she was a thin as Lucinda she would wear jeans to work every day, so she vowed to lose 30 pounds but Taisha had put cupcakes out left over from a birthday party……. Doris had dieted all day at that point so she figured she was entitled to a few cupcakes.”
There is absolutely no way I would read this to kids.
Source: school library hardcover
page 45:
“”Nonsense!” said Doris - she was on a diet. She always wore dresses but wanted to wear jeans. She realized if she was a thin as Lucinda she would wear jeans to work every day, so she vowed to lose 30 pounds but Taisha had put cupcakes out left over from a birthday party……. Doris had dieted all day at that point so she figured she was entitled to a few cupcakes.”
There is absolutely no way I would read this to kids.
Source: school library hardcover
August 20, 2025
This was...odd. I really liked the premise (I mean, a girl growing up in a library - come on!), and the cover is beautiful, but then the plot went where I did not expect and did not like. I feel like there were better directions this book could've gone. There were poignant moments, but then there were also ridiculous moments and moments I hated. So - 3 stars usually means I liked a book, but in this case it's more because I liked the idea of the book, I liked the MC Essie, and because I was interested enough to finish, even though as a whole I'm not sure I quite liked it.
January 26, 2025
4 librarians find a baby girl abandoned on the library shelf and they decide that they will raise her in the library. Eventually they let her begin to explore the outside world. This was a cute, quick read that middle grade readers will enjoy.
April 24, 2025
When four librarians find an infant abandoned in the stacks, they conspire to keep her and raise her in the library. I will swallow an absurd plot Polly Horvath wants to send my way. I had a blast with this story.
December 23, 2024
All these lackluster reviews must be coming from people who weren’t weird enough as kids. If I had read this during childhood there would have been no end to the ways I would have imagined myself into Essie’s exact set of circumstances. What a strange, funny, wonderfully implausible little book.
October 6, 2024
Such an odd book. The ending is a bit far fetched and I wish the author had allowed for the whimsical much too perfect ending I was hoping for as I think kids would like that ending better.
August 28, 2025
"She knew well the importance of the right kind, size, and number of paper clips. Her personal opinion as to what should be done to children when caught making chains out of them was that they should be boiled in oil. She knew better than to share this idea with anyone, but she gave it more than a normal amount of thought."
"I did not think she had sprung from the loins of a dinosaur."
"All French people learn to bake baguettes at an early age," she told Essie. But when for Essie? She should have been taught this as a toddler and stumbled around lisping, "Cette levure est pourrie," while throwing up her chubby hands in Gallic fashion.
***
This was one of the worst books I ever read. It was all typos, overlapping sentences, and missed punctuation.
The concept itself was promising, but the writing and long-winded explanations make it exhausting to read.
Essie herself was a decent character, although bland. The librarians had the most personality and background, of course, and their inner dialogues were most interesting to me.
Content: Dark humor, French stereotypes, mentions of animal cruelty.
"I did not think she had sprung from the loins of a dinosaur."
"All French people learn to bake baguettes at an early age," she told Essie. But when for Essie? She should have been taught this as a toddler and stumbled around lisping, "Cette levure est pourrie," while throwing up her chubby hands in Gallic fashion.
***
This was one of the worst books I ever read. It was all typos, overlapping sentences, and missed punctuation.
The concept itself was promising, but the writing and long-winded explanations make it exhausting to read.
Essie herself was a decent character, although bland. The librarians had the most personality and background, of course, and their inner dialogues were most interesting to me.
Content: Dark humor, French stereotypes, mentions of animal cruelty.
November 7, 2024
The premise of the book with a child abandoned and then raised in a library by four librarians was right up my alley. But I’m not sure what 10-11 year old would have the patience to read this book. It drags a bit and the last few pages were very rushed. But I enjoyed the fantasy parts of living in a library and the main character Essie was very well written. The four librarians offered a lot of humor but the ending was just a little too “hmmmm” for me. I am interested in reading other books by this author because there is a certain quirkiness to her character development I appreciate.
October 11, 2024
2.5
I was so excited for this book! I love any premise where someone is living in a library, shopping mall, or airport.
But, this was odd.
It has an old-fashioned feel, which was at times charming and at times discombobulating.
I definitely didn't see the need for 4 women to lament the fact they never had children (really, all 4 are that upset? not buying it) nor to be so desperate for marriage.
The resolution and when we find out how Essie ended up in the library in the first place is all kinds of messed up.
I wanted to love this, but it just didn't work out for me.
I was so excited for this book! I love any premise where someone is living in a library, shopping mall, or airport.
But, this was odd.
It has an old-fashioned feel, which was at times charming and at times discombobulating.
I definitely didn't see the need for 4 women to lament the fact they never had children (really, all 4 are that upset? not buying it) nor to be so desperate for marriage.
The resolution and when we find out how Essie ended up in the library in the first place is all kinds of messed up.
I wanted to love this, but it just didn't work out for me.
January 18, 2025
This book was enchanting. I don't even care that it's a juvenile book, it's exactly what I needed... Fun, light, and heart warming.
July 10, 2025
Library Girl follows a girl named Essie who lived all her life in the library. Raised by four librarians who are like mothers to her, Essie is now eleven years old and the perspect of freedom and outside world sounds enticing.
She was found abandoned in the Children's department where the four women worked and books of great stories and knowledge have been her friends for a long time. Then she got to go to the mall and new things begin to take shape like adventures, new friendship, things like bubble baths, chocolates bought solely by money given by her mothers.
This was an amazingly well written middle grade novel that explores emotions of self- reflections, being aware of your decisions and enjoying life. Essie as a protagonist was undeniably relatable as I deeply resonated with the way her actions and resolutions for the events that transpired in the story. The title of the book was the first thing that I noticed and I curiously had high hopes for the storyline. And I was not disappointed, the author has done a wonderful job with the pacing, narration and characters. I loved all the references to some of my favourite books.
It's must read for all the middle grade readers.
She was found abandoned in the Children's department where the four women worked and books of great stories and knowledge have been her friends for a long time. Then she got to go to the mall and new things begin to take shape like adventures, new friendship, things like bubble baths, chocolates bought solely by money given by her mothers.
This was an amazingly well written middle grade novel that explores emotions of self- reflections, being aware of your decisions and enjoying life. Essie as a protagonist was undeniably relatable as I deeply resonated with the way her actions and resolutions for the events that transpired in the story. The title of the book was the first thing that I noticed and I curiously had high hopes for the storyline. And I was not disappointed, the author has done a wonderful job with the pacing, narration and characters. I loved all the references to some of my favourite books.
It's must read for all the middle grade readers.
September 20, 2025
2.75 rounded up
Who hasn't wanted to live in a library growing up? Obvs, this was the reason I added this book to my TBR list.
However, the actual story fell flat for me. While it was fun and something that I think I would recommend to readers, it was just that. Fun while you read it but not something that's going to stick with me for a long time. And that's fine! But it wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be/
Who hasn't wanted to live in a library growing up? Obvs, this was the reason I added this book to my TBR list.
However, the actual story fell flat for me. While it was fun and something that I think I would recommend to readers, it was just that. Fun while you read it but not something that's going to stick with me for a long time. And that's fine! But it wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be/
August 30, 2025
mid mid mid mid mid mid mid. I read like two books by this author when I was 9 or 10, and I found them boring. It seems like my opinion of this author has not changed over the year. the premise was good, the execution was boring. the amount of suspended disbelief we were expected to have is crazy. if i was in the age range for this, i still dont think i would be impressed. 2.5
October 2, 2024
A baby being left in a library and being raised in a library by librarians is a cute concept. It wasn’t a super deep story which I can appreciate especially in a middle grade. I would say the audience would be ages 10+
February 16, 2025
This was such a cute little fun story not long at all. This book should be enjoyed by all. I had such a blast reading this. I liked how Polly (The Author) collectively managed to get all of my questions answered by the end of the book. The ending came together quite nicely.
May 27, 2025
This book was everything I need it to be. It had always been my dream to live in a library. This book opened my eyes to see what it would be like to live in a library secretly. Essie was a great character to read about. Her experiences had affected her and others around her in many ways. This book was amazing in all its ways.
September 28, 2024
fun lil storyline with my favorite thing— library representation!!!!
thought this was a quite advanced storyline for a juvenile fiction book, but maybe kids are smarter now? just feel like some kids wouldn’t find the dialogue believable, but i think it was moreso written for an older audience.
overall, very comfy vibes & a sweet read.
thought this was a quite advanced storyline for a juvenile fiction book, but maybe kids are smarter now? just feel like some kids wouldn’t find the dialogue believable, but i think it was moreso written for an older audience.
overall, very comfy vibes & a sweet read.
January 10, 2025
I checked this book out because it looked cute. The story was meh. It was a good break from all the fairy books I’ve been reading. 😬
January 24, 2025
adorable read
October 25, 2025
I love Polly Horvath! What a great story! I felt so for Essie in her moment of embarrassment. Such fun characters. An amazing tale, a real page turner!
January 31, 2025
Middle grade book. Fun read. Glad I did but I'm not sure I'd recommend. I loved the four librarians' quick wits and comebacks for needing a dresser or having a scented bathtub in their breakroom.
December 31, 2024
Charming and interesting. A fun premise. It had a lot to say about what family means and the importance of being an astute reader.
December 6, 2024
The premise of this book would have delighted me as a elementary school-aged reader. As an adult, the lack of plausibility drove me bonkers.
The writing is clever but twee. I'm glad I read it & my book club had fun discussing it. There were a few phrases I liked, but I wouldn't recommend this book to adults without mentioning that I found it a bit too much. For younger readers, it's a fun romp but ends far too tidily and, disturbingly, seems to deliberately skirt the reality of adoptee experiences.
I would absolutely not recommend this book for any child in foster care or living as an adoptee.
The writing is clever but twee. I'm glad I read it & my book club had fun discussing it. There were a few phrases I liked, but I wouldn't recommend this book to adults without mentioning that I found it a bit too much. For younger readers, it's a fun romp but ends far too tidily and, disturbingly, seems to deliberately skirt the reality of adoptee experiences.
I would absolutely not recommend this book for any child in foster care or living as an adoptee.
December 6, 2024
It's cute but odd and not odd in the way that most kids would probably enjoy. Lately, I've gone down a path of reading kind of meh middle grade books that don't have much actual kid appeal.
(Speaking as a children librarian here. I don't know who I would actually recommend this one to or what kid would get excited about it!)
I enjoyed the quick read though, and even though parts were cringe-worthy and other parts slightly dull, I'm not entirely kicking myself for picking it up off of our library's "new book" shelf!
(Speaking as a children librarian here. I don't know who I would actually recommend this one to or what kid would get excited about it!)
I enjoyed the quick read though, and even though parts were cringe-worthy and other parts slightly dull, I'm not entirely kicking myself for picking it up off of our library's "new book" shelf!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews