Goodreads Description
Here's the positives: The Borrower delves into sexuality, privacy issues, censorship, and beyond-the-books public library duties with class and sass. I got tickled when Lucy described her apartment decoration in terms of strategically piled books, not art or furniture. This is also one of my new favorite quotes:
"Once a year all the librarians in the county wedged themselves into high heels, tried to pull the cat hair off their sweaters with masking tape, and smeared their lips with an awful tomato red that had gone stale in the tube, all to convince the benefit set of the greater Hannibal region that libraries do better with chairs and books and money." (pg. 36). I love this snarky, observational quote....and can relate with the crazy cat lady/book lover stereotype. Darn cat hairs.
Other than some of these points, I felt disconnected from the story. The plot was interesting enough, and I liked little Ian, but Lucy's character was bland. I didn't feel empathy with her one way or the other, and most of her issues seemed bizarre and pointless. The driving around went on way too long, and her unapologetic attitude for her actions (but self-awareness to know she was in the wrong) lacked sentiment or meaning. She consistently lied and lacked a conscience, so I couldn't feel as much righteous outrage towards Ian's parents. I wanted to believe the journey had a point, but it missed the mark for me.
I think children's librarians will find relatable details to their jobs, and the ending was handled in an interesting way. I will still pick up more from this author, because I did like her writing style (even though I struggled with the content).
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