The Little Wartime Library

I absolutely adored this book. Every time I think there can't possibly be another WWII book featuring something I didn't know, I am quickly humbled. The Little Wartime Library is a fictionalized account of Britain's only underground library during the war. A shelter and library (and many other things including a theater!) were put underground in an uncompleted railway tunnel. Told with dual narration, the story centers on Clara, the "head" librarian after her mentor and boss was killed when the aboveground librarian was killed and Ruby her best friend and library assistant. Both women have their fair share of trauma. Clara lost her husband at Dunkirk and has thrown herself into the library; Ruby's sister was tragically killed with over 100 others when people stampeded down the stairs and deals with an abusive stepfather. The two women prove that a library is more than just books, it's a community. Fantastic, heartbreaking, and inspiring. A wonderful novel!