Review: Love In The Library

I’m so excited to share one of my most anticipated titles of 2022 with you all today! Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Yas Imamura is a small book that packs a huge punch of emotion. It quite literally left me in tears, which is not a common experience for me.

Inspired by the author’s grandparent’s lived experience (with mostly fictionalized dialogue) Love in the Library tells a beautiful love story set in Minidoka, an internment camp in Idaho where Japanese Americans were wrongfully imprisoned. Following the story of Tama, a young woman who works in the library at Minidoka, as she falls in love with a man named George, young readers will learn of one of the many dark moments in American history.

The bittersweet disposition of Tama and George’s love with the backdrop of their prison is felt throughout the story, and is especially prevalent in the incredibly heartfelt Author’s note in the back matter. Love in the Library provides so much hope to young readers, especially during the darkness we are all feeling in our current moment in history. Though the world may look scary, and we may feel hopeless, Love in the Library reminds us that through it all there will be beautiful moments filled with joy and love.

The illustrations by Yas Imamura perfectly blend that love and joy with the heartbreak of Tama and George’s reality on every page.

Providing a frank and hearfelt history lesson, Love in the Library would make a fantastic addition to school libraries and classrooms everywhere.

You can preorder your copy of Love In the Library at Bookshop, Amazon, or wherever you normally preorder books. (Please note: Some links provided are affiliate links. Affiliate links allow me to receive a small commission for recommendations at no cost to you. This commission is used to maintain this site and to continue bringing content to you. I always appreciate your support!)

Thank you so much to Candlewick for providing me with a review copy of Love in the Library. I have a feeling this may be one of my favorite titles of 2022, and I know I will read this one for many years to come with own little one.

About The Author:

Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the author of Also an Octopus, illustrated by Benji Davies, and the novel The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea. She lives in Oakland, California.

About The Illustrator:

Yas Imamura is the illustrator of The Very Oldest Pear Tree by Nancy I. Sanders, Winged Wonders by Meeg Pincus, and other books for children. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

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