The Astral Library

Author: Kate Quinn

Who Picked the Book: Stephanie

One-sentence summary: A desperate young woman finds entrance to a fantastical library where patrons can take up residence inside their favorite book, but also must fight forces that want to destroy the safe-haven that the library provides. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: All the specific book references.

Our least favorite thing about it: Some of the plot points (Beau in the library) were a little coincidental.

Main Topics of Discussion: Libraries, Bureaucracy, Literary References, Fantasy

Our favorite quote: “What a miraculous thing a book was, when you stopped to think about it: whole worlds springing to life from nothing more than squiggles on a page.”

Notes: We all loved this book. The setting and the premise were so fun and we really enjoyed reading the whole thing. We didn't think it was the best fantasy book ever, but we did really enjoy it. All the bookish stuff, the literary references, and the set up of the library were just magical. We were all a little stressed by the main character's circumstances in the beginning and then sometimes a little annoyed by her demeanor in the library. We liked that Beau ended up in the library, but it also didn't seem to "fit" as neatly as it could have. Their whole relationship was a little "off" for us for some reason. The library board as a stand-in for bureaucrats who don't understand that which they're leading was interesting and poignant. We were all satisfied with the ending and liked the imaginative and fantastical ideas of the book. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: Stephanie took us to Baonecci Italian Restaurant for dinner, a major storm was brewing during our meeting (again), Lindsay gifted Stephanie a plush uterus (which she thought was a crab!) for her birthday, and we all learned that we have a choice between stabbing or taking a photo with someone. 

What We Ate: We had Crostini and Meatballs for starters at dinner, followed by several different pastas (Tagliatelle with Pesto, Tagliatelle with Bolognese, and Tagliatelle with Alfredo). We spent the rest of our meeting time at Rachel's having Stephanie's delicious custard with peanut butter and chocolate dessert!