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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
A young librarian unintentionally kidnaps a young boy because his parents are overbearing sanctimonious windbags who may or may not be abusing him because of his sexuality. At times, I found the story stagnant, but the author made a subtle but profound point about accepting people for who they are. Also, puberty is the most important time in a kid's life where they need to be around mature adults that will help them accept themselves as who they are. If young people can't find those outlets to grow, that's where the trouble starts.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Felt very meh about this. A little too depressing for me
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really wanted to love this book because it has all the things that I love in books...a library, book lovers, literary references; however, it was hard to get past the fact that the main character went on a road trip with a run away boy. Even though I thought he was in better hands with Lucy than he was with his horrible parents, it was still difficult for me to relax and enjoy their adventures. Also, as a middle age librarian myself, I found it disappointing that this book implied that only young, hip librarians can relate to young readers.
This is a book for people who love books. It follows Lucy, a library who inadvertently kidnaps a 10-year-old patron and takes him a cross-country road trip in a desperate attempt to instill in him the message that it's okay to be whoever you are. Sprinkled between chapters are clever parodies of popular children's books like "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" and "Goodnight Moon," which leave the well-read reader feeling like they're "in" on the inside joke. I'm not sure I would recommend this book to someone who wasn't an avid reader, because I don't know that they would appreciate it fully, but for any lover of literature, "The Borrower" will undoubtedly become a favorite that you'll want for your own bookshelf.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was a chore to get through. The beginning starts off engaging and chock full of literary references. While the rest of the book continues to be chock full of literary references, it stops being engaging.
Spoiler
The rest of the book entailed the main character aimlessly driving through the states while trying to convince herself that it was okay that she just took a child. There are many ways it could have been more engaging; more of a feeling of a chase, more of a sense that their travels would have ended somewhere, a revelation that wasn't smacking you in the face from the start of the trip. Instead you were on a boring car ride while the main character made adult revelations about her life at the expense of a child.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes