Kate Thompson recognises the importance of what remains one of the biggest civilian disasters of the era and along with other hard truths of the period (domestic abuse and unspoken mental health issues) ensures that the events of the story are never sugarcoated. Overall: happily and highly recommend this gripping and engaging novel for any reader who enjoys historical fiction and/or novels that show a deep appreciation for librarians and literature. It leaves you with a sense of the hardship many people faced after losing their homes and the importance of friendship and businesses going the extra mile to help communities through tough times.

At the time Bethnal Green Underground was a half-completed station which had been locked up and left to the rats when war broke out in 1939. This book shows not just how communities can be pulled together but how books and reading can really help and support anyone in the hardest times of their lives and give hope, escapism and distraction too.

I loved getting to know the people who live in this underground world, I cried with them and cheered them one, anyone who loves reading and loves a library must read this story, it truly shows what a library means to so many people. I had never heard of these women before now and I'm so thankful to have had the chance to learn their amazing story.

Reading this story made me realise how much I missed out on by not having access to a library growing up. Because, as little Pat discovered, you can escape life’s vicissitudes when your nose is buried in a good book.All the kids used their imaginations, playing hopscotch, skipping, It and kiss-chase up the tunnels. A split character narration forms the basis of this novel’s engrossing format, which is shared over librarians Clara and Ruby. She disregards her ‘imposed upon’ obligations and her losses and channels her energy into providing equal opportunity books to everyone in the secret community. Set in London, Clara has created Britain's only underground library, built over the tracks of the disused Bethnal Green tube station.

This is the first of many battles that Clara and Ruby have with their snooty boss, Mr Pinkerton-Smythe, who has the temerity to dismiss Clara as “just a Children’s librarian” and soon find himself on the wrong side of half of Bethnal Green! Along with her glamorous best friend and assistant librarian, Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. Clara soon finds herself at odds with the posh library committee manager when he implies she would be doing a better service to keep her patrons away from romance and point them towards more educational fare.Down here a secret community thrives: with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a café and a theatre offering shelter, solace and escape from the bombs that fall above. Despite losing her mentor, Clara Button and her assistant Ruby Munroe open an underground library and a sanctuary in London's East End. I think the characters of The Little Wartime Library are a pretty special bunch and I’m glad I was able to spend time with them in the pages of this novel.