Book Review: The Memory Library

What a fabulous idea! The mother in The Memory Library has an established habit. Every year, she purchases a book for her daughter's birthday and writes an inscription inside. The only problem? She cannot give the books to her daughter. Years ago, they had a falling out and the daughter now lives on another continent and has little to do with her.

Kate Storey weaves a touching story of the tenuous mother-daughter bond. Sally Harrison has been building a library for forty-two years. Sadly, that library, intended as a gift to her daughter, lies in ruins. Sally's memory is not what it once was. After leaving the tub to overflow, the water seeps down into her beloved library. Add in a fall that fractures her arms and Sally desperately needs her adult daughter, Ella. When Ella arrives (out of duty), she harbors all the resentments of the past. But will time together seeking to repair the library draw the two of them back together? Will it bring past truths to light?

I wished to have a daughter, or at least a child, who loves books as much as I do. With sons who are not readers, this is a pipe dream. What a cool idea, though! I loved how the inscriptions shared reasons for each book's choice and what the mother hoped the daughter would draw from each tale. This book was a love story to books and their power to change lives. I bought the e-book after reading about it in a Book Bub newsletter. Sadly, it wasn't as absorbing as I had hoped. It took several tries to get caught up in the tale. I'm glad I stuck with it. The story is worth the time, if only for exploring the fabulous idea of gifting books.