Neither a borrower...

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai. 

Lucy Hull works as a children's librarian in a town called Hannibal, Missouri,  though not the real-life one. 

This Hannibal had no river, but it had a highway straight through town, and if you drove past and saw only the McDonald's, the Citgo, the grime and corn and car fumes, you'd never know the hedged lawns, the schools with untattered flags, the big houses to the west and the smaller ones east with their gravel drives and shiny mailboxes.

Lucy kind of stumbles into her job.  With an undergraduate degree in English, she accepts a temporary job in the aforementioned town and ends up staying for four years. 

One of her patrons, a boy named Ian Drake, loves to come to the library.  He's truly a book lover, and devours everything she gives him.  When one day Ian's mother gives her a list of subjects and books he's not allowed, she realizes that his parents are very strict Christians. 

Over time, Lucy notices troubling changes in Ian's behavior.  She mentions it to colleagues, who tell her she's making mountains out of molehills.  But when she learns that his parents have enrolled him in classes with a fundamentalist pastor who is known for "reforming" gay kids, she is truly worried.

The ensuing events are almost predictable.  Ian is a very clever boy, and Lucy is ripe for being manipulated.  There is some unexpected comedy when they decide to spend a night at her parents' home in Chicago and Lucy's father attempts to be helpful. 

What's best about this book (besides the narrator's distinct perspective) to this former youth librarian,  is Makkai's riffs on popular children's books.  Some are funny, some are melancholy, but all are charming. 

People have been writing novels for centuries, and though it must be getting increasingly difficult to invent new stories and develop unique styles of writing, Makkai has managed it with her first novel.

 By the way, you don't have to be a children's librarian to enjoy this book, but some knowledge of children's literature will definitely help!



*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.

Just finished reading...

The Secret of the Bradford House by Albert A. Bell, Jr.

The second Steve and Kendra mystery is not due to be published until the beginning of April, but Dr. Bell was kind enough to send me an ARC to review, and then pass on to my nephew. He even signed it to him!

Steven Patterson and Kendra Jordan, now 11, have known each other since they were five. Living across the street makes it easy for the best friends to hang out together. Since Steve's mother works during the day, it also makes it easier for Kendra's mom to keep an eye on him. (Steve insists she's not his babysitter anymore!)

One of the rules Steve must follow to not have a sitter anymore is that he must accompany Kendra and her mother when they leave their house. That's why he's setting up his lawn chair outside the tennis court while Kendra has her lesson, and Mrs. Jordan runs errands. Before he can start to read, though, the previous student starts to talk to him. Her name is Rachel Mendoza, she's the same age as Steve and Kendra, and her family has recently moved into a house down the street from theirs.

While waiting for her mother to pick her up, Rachel asks Steve about the spooky-looking old house up on the hill. She can see the house from her bedroom window, she says, and spotted a light in the attic one night. When Steve informs her that no-one lives in the house at present, and it's being turned into a Bed and Breakfast Inn, she claims he's confirms her theory that she's seen a ghost.

Steve is not sure about the existence of ghosts, and when he relates the conversation to Kendra, she is determined to prove that they do not exist.

Steve and Kendra are under closer scrutiny than usual because of an adventure they had a few months earlier involving the discovery of an Underground Railroad tunnel a 150-year-old unsolved murder. Somehow, though, they still manage to sneak into the old Bradford House, as it is known, and uncover some secrets.

The addition of another female, who is slightly more emotionally and physically mature than they are, complicates Steve and Kendra's relationship in a very realistic way. Kendra is African-American, and it's refreshing (and also quite realistic, I think) that the kids are color-blind (although not all of the adults are).

Dr. Bell is a history professor, and a lot of facts about such diverse topics as baseball, Sherlock Holmes and World War I are slipped in as the kids investigate the mystery. Despite the fact that the mystery involves a ghost, it's not a scary story.

This was a gripping novel, even for this adult, and upper-elementary aged children should enjoy it.