Five Book Clubbers met at Seeds Bookstore to kick off our 2025 season with The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead!

The Lost Library was chosen for our fantasy book this term, but it wasn’t clear at the beginning why it fit that genre! We talked about our first impressions of the story, agreeing that there were many elements of realistic fiction and mystery woven into the plot, especially since one of the main characters, Evan, deliberately analyses his situation like a mystery! This led to a wider discussion about the characters themselves. We looked at the different narrators of the book: in addition to Evan, there was Mortimer the cat and the enigmatic AL. Each perspective was unique considering their backstories and experiences, but we also noticed that the author chose to write AL in first person with the others in third! Even though we had closer access to AL’s thoughts and feelings, many Book Clubbers related to Evan as it was exciting to unravel the secrets of the lost library along with him.

Something that amused us was how The Lost Library also mentioned book clubs! While not a focal point of the story, it was a topic that emphasised the importance of libraries for a community. We looked at pictures of real Free Little Libraries that people have set up in their communities, and this sparked a lively discussion about our own libraries! Some of us go to schools with enormous libraries encompassing different sections of the campus while others only have a single room filled with books, but we all shared stories of our librarians too: from the friendly and helpful to the more serious and stern, just like AL’s own Ms Scoggin.

Inspired by this, we set to designing our dream libraries. While they were all different – some modelled after medieval castles and others sophisticated and hi-tech – we made sure to include lots of comfortable reading nooks and long rows of shelving along with unique features like underground bouncy houses, rooftop swimming pools, and cafes filled with delicious treats! But we do know that we don’t need these to read a good story, so we eagerly look forward to the next book!