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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
This was a fun and clever read -- the author utilizes familiar writing styles of famous authors and tropes SUPER well throughout -- but the protagonist's motivation and the plot lagged for a chunk. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could!
Funny, weird, charming, moving. At one point the narrator, Lucy Hull, says that if she organized books by main characters, she'd be right between Huck Finn and Humbert Humbert, and yeah, that's exactly where this goes. Great for book lovers.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a book of people stumbling through life, suddenly finding themselves in places they never thought possible. A liberal arts grad finds herself a librarian in a small town, befriending a boy whose religious parents forbid most literature. And then she sort of kidnaps him. This was an odd book. I felt set up for disaster, but instead the ending was mild and non-confrontational. Maybe I missed something, but I'm not quite sure what others saw in this book.
4.5⭐️, really. My heart is full and I’m a bit choked up.
I had to take an extra long lunch today to finish this book. I loved it! Beautiful and heartbreaking but hopeful. I want more books with librarians as the main character.
adventurous
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A 26-year-old librarian named Lucy Hull works at a library in small town. She hides books in a closet she deems not good enough for anyone to read (something I would probably do).
One of her favorite patrons, a 10-year-old boy named Ian frequents the library. Flamboyant (people in the book point out that he is gay) and witty – he LOVES to read but soon his uber-religious mother approaches Lucy with a list of books he is NOT to read; books dealing with magic, the occult, anything Roald Dahl wrote etc.
Lucy finds out that Ian's parents are not only limiting his reading material but also trying to reprogram him, essentially, into a straight boy by taking him to these icky classes every weekend lead by an infamously "gay-turned-straight but really I am still gay" pastor named Bob.
Lucy finds Ian hiding in the library one morning. And they take off on an unplanned road trip. The book is about that road trip and her making amends with her inability to change someone's life path or beliefs.
I would recommend this to anyone wanting to read a witty, sometimes dark book filled with literary references. Oh and I would recommend it to anyone who gets really pissed off about uber Christians telling gay people it's a choice.
One of her favorite patrons, a 10-year-old boy named Ian frequents the library. Flamboyant (people in the book point out that he is gay) and witty – he LOVES to read but soon his uber-religious mother approaches Lucy with a list of books he is NOT to read; books dealing with magic, the occult, anything Roald Dahl wrote etc.
Lucy finds out that Ian's parents are not only limiting his reading material but also trying to reprogram him, essentially, into a straight boy by taking him to these icky classes every weekend lead by an infamously "gay-turned-straight but really I am still gay" pastor named Bob.
Lucy finds Ian hiding in the library one morning. And they take off on an unplanned road trip. The book is about that road trip and her making amends with her inability to change someone's life path or beliefs.
I would recommend this to anyone wanting to read a witty, sometimes dark book filled with literary references. Oh and I would recommend it to anyone who gets really pissed off about uber Christians telling gay people it's a choice.
A book that started out witty and engaging, then - sadly, because it had promise - grew tiresome. By the end, I just didn't care what happened to Lucy and Ian. Nor did I find it plausible that more of a stink or upset wasn't made about Ian's disappearance. I liked the author's use of clever writing devices with certain chapters - mimicking certain children's books, stories, etc. - but in the end, I found myself wanting to understand Lucy's motivations more, and the author left far too many of my questions unanswered while she pondered issues of nationality, escape and such, which felt disconnected to the heart of the story.