Five people, very different from one another, step across the threshold of a small library in the heart of Tokyo. All of them are at a crossroads in their lives. A young saleswoman in a department store who wants to acquire new skills and succeed in her new life in the capital; a thirty-five-year-old accountant at a furniture company who dreams of opening his own antique shop; a conscientious former magazine editor who lost her job due to motherhood and struggles to balance her professional aspirations with raising a child; a thirty-year-old unemployed man with untapped talent in painting, who has lost his confidence and feels like a burden to his family; a retired man who doesn't know how to spend his plentiful free time and is searching for new interests.

Sayuri Komachi, the enigmatic librarian, will suggest a book to each of them that is far from what they had in mind to read. This unexpected read will make them question what the deeper meaning of life is and will give them the key to realize their dreams.

The Library of Hidden Dreams is an ode to libraries and librarians, the unsung heroes who, with their sensitive antennae, tune into the deepest needs of readers, and of course to books, which, however unexpectedly they may come into our hands, have the power to transform our lives.

“The question: ‘What are you searching for?’ often brings tears to the eyes of Michiko Aoyama's heroes, and to the reader as well. This may be the most important question a library, a book, and possibly even life itself can pose.”  New York Times

“Aoyama sensitively and gracefully unfolds the stories of the library's visitors, offering hope and joy to those who are at a critical moment in their lives.”  Kirkus

“You enjoy it from the first to the last page! A book full of hope, where all dreams can come true.”  Daily Mail