Regret, the thing that haunts every single person on this planet; Choices that were made, opportunities that were missed, conversations and declarations that never happened or just a simple ‘ I wish I had worked out today’. No matter the size of the regret, or a person’s age, all humans are burdened with this “curse” However, life goes on and we make do with what we have and the choices we made to lead us to where we are today. However, The book The Midnight Library by Matt Haig offers an innovative story where people who have lived such a distasteful life and tried to kill themselves, are transported into a place where time is frozen at exactly midnight.
The book follows the protagonist Nora Seed, a single 35 year old English woman living in Bedford, England who battles with depression. Nora hates her life, and regrets every choice she has and hasn’t made. One night after her cat died, she decided she had had enough of life and tried to overdose. However, while on the brink of death, she was magically transported to the midnight library, where every single parallel universe that could ever exist is stored inside books. Every time Nora begins reading a book, she is transported into a different universe where she lives a different life. At the end of the book, Nora learns that she didn’t need a new life, she just needed a more positive perspective on her regular life.
I found the book very interesting, and read up to ten chapters a day nonstop, so I would definitely recommend the book If you are burdened by guilt and regret, or have something bottled up inside of you. I’m sure that by reading this book you will have a new perspective to work out your problems.
Overall, I definitely think that this book should be required for high schools, as it can give teens a new way of thinking, even if it’s deemed as “cringy”. Life always has new opportunities, and sometimes, having a different perspective is all we really need. But we teens are very close minded to advice, especially from older generations; We usually get defensive -I know I do sometimes- when a grownup compares their life to ours, says how much better we have it or something similar of the sort. However, while I read this book, I did not feel “insulted” or undermined by it, I learned some lessons while Nora learned hers; And I think we can all refresh our minds and get a new perspective once in a while, sometimes even simplifying your thinking is enough to help you work through a tricky situation.
