Overview

25 Library Terrace follows Hattie as she returns to Edinburgh after her mother’s sudden disappearance. Drawn back to the family flat on Library Terrace, she confronts unanswered questions, fractured relationships and the long emotional reach of loss. The novel unfolds through memory and present-day reckoning.

Writing & Voice

We found White’s writing restrained and emotionally precise. The prose is quiet but deliberate, allowing moments of grief and recognition to surface naturally. She trusts small gestures and remembered details, letting the emotional weight build without forcing revelation.

Content & Perspective

The narrative moves between past and present, showing how Hattie’s childhood and adult life are shaped by absence. Family tensions and half-known truths emerge slowly, creating a portrait of how silence and uncertainty linger within domestic spaces and personal identity.

Themes

The novel explores grief, memory and the limits of understanding those closest to us. It examines how families cope with disappearance rather than closure, and how place holds emotional residue. Edinburgh is not backdrop but container for loss and return.

What Worked

• Subtle emotional control that respects the reader.
• Strong sense of place rooted in lived experience.
• Authentic portrayal of unresolved grief.

Minor Quibbles

• The quiet tone may feel understated for some readers.
• Key emotional shifts unfold gradually rather than dramatically.

Final Thoughts

25 Library Terrace is a quietly powerful novel we admired for its emotional restraint, its attentiveness to place, and its honest portrayal of grief without easy answers.

Rating: ★★★★½ / 5