by Rebecca Makkai
A disgruntled children's Librarian runs away with one of her library patrons who is running away from home. As a retired Librarian I found this book hilarious, the author certainly knew how to describe libraries, overprotective parents and precocious children. She has created an interesting, funny and bittersweet story.
The runaway boy is from a fundamentalist Christian family who are sending him to a special religious group because they fear he has gay tendancies; the Librarian's father, who assists her on her escape, may or may not be part of a Russian mafia in America, the Librarian is struggling in her relationships with two men in her life and then, who is it that is following them? Should them make a break for Canada?
The book, while it trys to be light and funny, does touch on some important issues, freedom to read, homophobia, what is one's true family history and do we really want to know the truth? will the situation be even worse for the boy when he returns home? The Librarian figures out a devious plan for continuing his exposure to literature to broaden ones mind. Will this help him be strong and be able to think for himself and cope with his family situation?
I really enjoyed the book and all the antics and crazy characters. The one thing I found disappointing was that the Librarian ends up in another, perhaps even worse, dead-end library job. I would have thought that she should have learned something about pursuing self-fulfillment from her adventures with the boy.
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