kasiabrenna 's review for:

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

2.0

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This book was just really lame, honestly. I was drawn to the premise, which could have made for some great satire: a children's librarian ends up inadvertently kidnapping her favorite patron, who happens to be a 10 year old boy whose parents have him in anti-gay therapy and restrict his reading choices. I also felt like I had to read it because it is set in Hannibal MO, and I grew up in small town Missouri. But right away I was annoyed, because main character becomes a public librarian on a whim, when a job is just handed to her with no training or experience. As someone who desperately wants to be a public librarian, and has the MLS I owe $50,000 for and experience, and cannot get a position, I was really irked by this plot detail. Also, I doubt the author has ever been to Hannibal. I feel like she chose MO because she is from the Chicago area and MO probably just sounded like a bigoted place she could use as an example.

I do give it two stars, because there are some clever bits, and I did find some of the stuff with her father and his shady connections pretty humorous. But the main character may be the lamest main character since Bella in Twilight. She is completely lacking in personality or motivation, and doesn't seen to believe she can control anything. The plot and the characters don't seem to go anywhere, they just drive around in a car for awhile, and it doesn't really make any sort of point.