A Book and No Disasters - Some By Sea

The Borrower

Author: Rebecca Makkai
Pages: 324
Publisher: Viking
Review Copy from: Penguin

Description from Goodreads:
In this delightful, funny, and moving first novel, a librarian and a young boy obsessed with reading take to the road.

Lucy Hull, a young children's librarian in Hannibal, Missouri, finds herself both a kidnapper and kidnapped when her favorite patron, ten- year-old Ian Drake, runs away from home. The precocious Ian is addicted to reading, but needs Lucy's help to smuggle books past his overbearing mother, who has enrolled Ian in weekly antigay classes with celebrity Pastor Bob. Lucy stumbles into a moral dilemma when she finds Ian camped out in the library after hours with a knapsack of provisions and an escape plan. Desperate to save him from Pastor Bob and the Drakes, Lucy allows herself to be hijacked by Ian. The odd pair embarks on a crazy road trip from Missouri to Vermont, with ferrets, an inconvenient boyfriend, and upsetting family history thrown in their path. But is it just Ian who is running away? Who is the man who seems to be on their tail? And should Lucy be trying to save a boy from his own parents?

First Sentence: "I might be the villain of this story."

Review:
The Borrower is an utterly enchanting tale, one that I should have gotten around to reading about a year ago. Instead, it had languished on my shelves until I finally decided to apply strict order to my review piles. I don't know why I didn't read this right away, because I loved it. If only I had opened the book up and read the very first page, I would have made space in my schedule for this novel.

Rebecca Makkai's writing is charismatic and charming. Though her storytelling is largely straight forward, first person, she also plays with other styles in ways that are incredibly clever and entertaining. She mixes in, for example, a couple of charts, like ones illustrating how many of the ten commandments and seven deadly sins Lucy has committed. Even better, Makkai mixed in little snippets where Lucy imagines her predicament as told in the form of a children's book. The only two I recognized the books for were in the style of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie... and Goodnight Moon, but I'm sure an aficionado could identify the rest. These snippets captured Lucy's humor and her knowledge base so perfectly.

Obviously, I'm a bit biased towards any book whose heroine is a librarian. Lucy works as a children's librarian, and I loved identifying aspects of librarianship that I recognize from the stories of others. The library parts are so true to life that I really think any librarian will seriously get a kick out of this story, especially children's librarians.

I think librarians and educators are perhaps especially well-placed to appreciate this tale, since much of it is about the concern for what adults to youth in trying to mold them into a particular type of person. Ian Drake is the ideal child for a librarian; he's that kid that keeps the librarian motivated and interested in her job, because she so loves encouraging his passion for reading. Ian has one of THOSE mothers, the hyper-religious kind that wants to keep her child from reading anything untoward, instead forcing him to read only books he's not interested in.

Fearful that Ian might be gay (though he's only ten, he apparently has some sort of flamboyance that makes them suspect), his parents book him in one of those rage-inducing (to me) anti-Gay programs. Lucy finds out about this and wants to do something, especially as she witnesses the change in Ian, like his reduced interest in reading and the library. Because of this, when Ian runs away, she's disposed to help him, rather than wrangling him back home when she should. Inadvertently, she becomes a kidnapper, and, while I don't condone her behavior, I do see how it happened. In this, Makkai walks a fine line between caring and creepy, between humorous and unsettling, and, to my mind, does so very well.

The main focus of The Borrower is one of identity. Ian struggles to find his true self while his nature, his parents, Pastor Bob, Lucy, and everyone he knows try to make him be one thing or another. Lucy tries to balance her American half and Russian half. She desperately wants to be independent from her wealthy, possibly Russian mob parents, so has thrown herself into librarianship because it was the first career to come her way, but she has no idea if that's actually what she wants to do. Lucy's father, too, seems to wrestle with his identity and his past through his stories, in which he re-ensvisions his time in Russia. I love this quote on the importance of being oneself and must share it:

   "On my mental instant replay, I realized that obliquely comparing his family to the Nazis was maybe not my finest moment.
   He was quiet a second, and then he said, 'Did you know that Hitler anted to be an artist, but since he couldn't get into art school, he turned into a Nazi?'
   'Yes, I remember that.'
   'Just imagine if he got into art school, the whole world would be different.'
   I said, 'It just shows that people should be allowed to be who they are. If they can't, then they turn into nasty, sad people.'
   He started to laugh. 'What if you went to the art gallery, and the guy was like, "Here you see a beautiful Monet, and here on your left is an early Hitler." Wouldn't that be weird?'
   I couldn't think of any subtle way to turn it back around again.
   He said, 'You would go to the gift shop and buy Hitler postcards, and you'd go, "Oh, look at this beautiful Hitler. I'm going to hang it in my room!" And people would wear Hitler t-shirts.'
   'Yes,' I said. 'That would have been better."

Isn't that amazing? I just love the way the book was written. Different though they are in some ways, I think this book would make be an excellent readalike for Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. They share a similar whimsy, with young, adventurous heroes who have a unique view of the world. Both cover dark topics but through a sort of humor.

If you like these quotes I've shared, by all means get yourself a copy of this book to enjoy. This is a definite must for any book lover.

Rating: 4.5/5

Favorite Quote: "I believed that books might save him because I knew they had so far, and because I knew the people books had saved. They were college professors and actors and scientists and poets. They got to college and sat on dorm floors drinking coffee, amazed they'd finally found their soul mates. They always dressed a little out of season. Their names were enshrined on the pink cards in the pockets of all the forgotten hardbacks in every library basement in America. If the librarians were lazy enough or nostalgic enough or smart enough, those names would stay there forever."

"We were able-minded once
But guilt doesn't open doors
So we toss our fits of charm
And I muscle my way into a desperate situation
Too many times to count

And some day we will gather up
For an hour or two and shake our hands
Until then, I resign my post"

Dear Diary - Travis

So Far Away

Author: Meg Mitchell Moore
Pages: 336
ARC Acquired from: Little, Brown and Company via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Description from Goodreads:
Thirteen-year-old Natalie Gallagher is trying to escape: from her parents' ugly divorce, and from the vicious cyber-bullying of her former best friend. She discovers a dusty old diary in her family's basement and is inspired to unlock its secrets.

Kathleen Lynch, an archivist at the Massachusetts State Archives, has her own painful secrets: she's a widow estranged from her only daughter. Natalie's research brings her to Kathleen, who in Natalie sees traces of the daughter she has lost.

What could the life of an Irish immigrant domestic servant from the 1920s teach them both? In the pages of the diary, they will learn that their fears and frustrations are timeless.

So Far Away is an affecting story of mothers and daughters and how solace can be found in the most unlikely places.

First Sentence: "It was a Friday when the girl came into the Archives for the first time, the first Friday after they'd changed the clocks."

Review:
I make no secret of my affinity for books about libraries and librarians. If I see that it's about a librarian, I will add a book to my to-read list, except maybe the romance novels, and, should I spot one of those at Goodwill, I would probably by it, later forcing my friends to listen to a dramatic reading, because that's just the kind of person I am. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I requested this because of the word 'archivist' in the description, because I think otherwise I would have let this pass me by. I'm glad I didn't.

The archives scenes were a very small part of the novel, but they were right at the front, so Moore got me nice and hooked. Natalie enters the archives and asks for help with a project for school. She wants to research her family's genealogy. Kathleen gives a little spiel about how hard that can be, and I immediately recommended the book to my mom, because she has been crazy obsessed with doing genealogy for the past couple years.

The book doesn't necessarily focus on that, but it's sort of the frame story. More specifically, So Far Away is about the diary that Natalie found, and is going to use to figure out who her family really is. The diary was written by an ancestor during the 1920s. While I have a huge love of history, and am very interested in that time period, I was really bored by the diary. The rest of the book, while somewhat slow moving, maintained my interest, but I really just did not have any stake in the fate of the bridget named Bridget.

In addition to comments on genealogical and archival work, the other thing I loved was the parts about bullying. Natalie is being bullied by her former best friend, who has found a new, more popular, meaner best friend. They send threatening all caps texts (YOU KNOW THIS IS THREATENING) and even create a website about how much they hate her. Kathleen senses this and tries to help, while Natalie's parents and the school are ignorant and/or unwilling to step in. The story puts forward the idea that modern bullying is a whole different thing than it used to be. I thought this was timely and well done.

The one thing I definitely did not approve of was Lucy, Kathleen's dog. Don't get me wrong; I loved the god. However, Lucy was pretty much Kathleen's only family (since Kathleen's daughter ran away years before). Yet, I am supposed to believe that Kathleen would not notice that her dog was getting perpetually sicker throughout the novel. I just don't buy it. She would have had Lucy to the vet on the second or third day of her not eating. If the dog is basically your replacement child, you're going to be worried, even in the midst of your research and concerns about Natalie. End of story.

So Far Away is a touching story about two troubled souls forming an unlikely bond, and trying to learn how to face the future. The pace is slow and contemplative, and I recommend to those who like a thought-provoking read.

Rating: 3/5

Favorite Quote: "We've all got our own brand of crazy."

"Dear Diary,
What is wrong with me?
'Cos I'm fine between the lines
Be not afraid
Help is on its way"

On Her Majesty's Secret Service - John Barry Orchestra

Phoenix Rising
Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, Book 1
Author: Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris
Pages: 347
ARC Acquired From: Voyager, a HarperCollins imprint, via NetGalley
Brief Summary:
Agent Eliza Braun of the Ministry of Paranormal Occurrences was ordered to dispatch a captured ministry agent, Wellington Thornhill Books, archivist for the MPO. When she realized she could rescue him, she did, assuming the Ministry would be happy to have him back, since he had not broken under torture. For her trouble, she was demoted. To the archives. And made the partner of Agent Books. Braun's loves in life are bombs, guns and trouble, so cataloging does not exactly satisfy. This leads to the new goal of convincing Books to help her solve unsolved ministry cases, namely the one involving her formal partner, now in an insane asylum. Lucky for Eliza, she is going to find that librarians (archivists!) are far more resilient than she ever suspected.

Review:
So, here we have a steampunk book with an archivist as a main character. Can you say awesome? I know a few archivists myself, and some of them can be quite awful and, well, stereotypical. Thankfully, Books falls firmly into the realm of the fantastic archivists. He is concerned with the "preservation of the Empire" and of the ministry's artifacts and papers (291).

From the beginning, I identified more with Books than with the confident, flirty heroine. A librarian myself, his attempt to find a nonviolent solution, along with his nerdy love of books and research, seems the ideal method. Eliza, while a strong heroine, never really felt like a real person to me. She lacks background, except that she misses her homeland of New Zealand. All I really know about her is that she likes to make Books uncomfortable and to make things explode (likely those two things will combine at some point, but not in this book, the first in the series). Hopefully, some more character depth will be forthcoming.

Clever people that you are, you have likely noticed that Books is a fitting name for an archivist. This naming convention continues throughout, with many of the characters wearing fitting monikers. Like the rather brawny Miss Braun. Or the female assassin del Morte. I found these little elements amusing, along with most of the old timey language. Expect pages "full of rabble-rousers, Fabians, cut-throats and Dollymops" (133). Although there are some occasional slip ups in the use of the old fashioned words, such as referring to an event as grizzly, when the authors really meant grisly.

I will undoubtedly be venturing forth into later volumes about the escapades of Books and Braun. Phoenix Rising was quite entertaining and I hope book two will be even better. If you love reading about librarians with a few aces up their sleeves, explosions and strong women, you won't want to miss this amusing steampunk novel.

One Little Slip - Barenaked Ladies

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians
Alcatraz, Book 1

Author: Brandon Sanderson
Pages: 308
Publisher: Scholastic

Brief Summary:
Alcatraz Smedry, sarcastic thirteen year old with serious skill in breaking things, has been passed from foster home to foster home all of his life. Wondering why? Did you not read how he is really good at breaking things? Seriously, he cannot open a door without the doorknob coming off in his hand. He always thought he was cursed, but then on his thirteenth birthday, he received a package from his parents containing his inheritance. And it was some sand. And then, suddenly, there's a man claiming to be his grandfather at the front door, a man with a gun in the kitchen, and his inheritance is missing, stolen by the evil librarians that rule the world. But at least he has his Talent of breaking things to help him as he and the Smedry crew raid the main branch of the library to get the sand back!

Review:
As a librarian, there was absolutely no way I could pass up this book. Evil librarians? I was so there. And boy did this book deliver the absurdities for which I was hoping. The story is told in a breaking the fourth wall kind of way, wherein the author (Sanderson claims to be Alcatraz who is pretending to be Sanderson so the librarians will not ban the book...or something like that) constantly puts the narrative on hold to talk to the reader. This tactic can seriously backfire and is not one I am generally a fan of. Sanderson pulled it off quite well here, largely because the character of Alcatraz has enough swagger, sarcasm and know-it-all-ness to make it seem appropriate and funny.

Similarly, Sanderson manages to sell the crazy elements of the plot by playing them up. He draws attention to all of the weird things and shrugs his shoulders literarily, making you do so too. (I'm not sure if that makes sense, but it does to me.) For example, I was skeptical of the Smedry Talents. Breaking things had some obvious utility, but tripping and arriving late sure did not seem at all helpful. But Sanderson made it work. So props to him.

Speaking of Sanderson, I got to see him speak at ALA 2010 and he seemed like a nice, nerdy gentleman. He talked in his spiel about how much he loves libraries and what an impact they had on him as a child. He even threw in a quote that I am fairly certain is a nod to himself as a teen. "The rebellious, trouble-making types looked through the fantasy section" (285). No wonder he believes that information is "the real power in this world," and that, since the librarians control the information, they could control the power (97). Awesome! I like the way this man thinks.

Why should you read this book?

• Sarcastic narrator = best kind of narrator
• Opening sentence: "So, there I was, tied to an altar made from outdated encyclopedias, about to get sacrificed to the dark powers by a cult of evil librarians" (1).
  
• The most kickass character is a 13 year old girl
• Off the wall, hilarious crazy moments
  
• Book-loving dinosaurs that speak with British accents
• Seriously, did you miss out on the evil librarians? Evil librarians!
  

"It was a recipe for disaster
A four course meal of no sirree
It seemed that happily ever after
Was happy everyone was after me"

Rant About the Government's Treatment of Libraries

Bad Decisions in the Government, Or Why Libraries Are More Important than Ever

One of my friends sent me this link this morning: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/100099219.html. For those not particularly eager to actually read the article, allow me to sum up. As is the case everywhere, the economy sucks. The government needs to cut budgets and turns to libraries, seeing them as a luxury rather than an essential. As a result, libraries are struggling to keep their doors open; many have reduced hours and some, like the system in Camden, NJ, may shut down entirely. Camden is not just shutting down one branch, but the whole system. That means there might not be any libraries in Camden next year.

For those outside of the library profession, maybe the importance of libraries is not as obvious as it is to me, so let me explain. More people are using the library now than did before the economy's precipitous descent into recession. The reason I think is obvious: libraries offer books (and often movies and CDs as well) for FREE (excepting fines). These are items that were easy for many families to go purchase on a whim ten years ago, but now are mostly for purchase solely around holidays and birthdays. When money is tight, you want to save money for absolute essentials. This means that if a soccer mom can get the latest Danielle Steel or Nora Roberts from the library instead of purchasing it from Borders or Barnes and Nobles, she will do so and save her the cost of $17.99 for each one.

On top of that, libraries offer free connection to the internet. Camden, according to the article, is a poor area; only one-third of the residents have internet at home. The internet may once have been a luxury, but now it is de rigeur and pretty much necessary for living in modern America. For example, if you want a job, the best way to look for positions is...on the internet. Applications are more and more frequently to be filled out and submitted online or emailed. For any but the most rudimentary position, you are going to need an email address.

So government people, what are you thinking (assuming that you are capable of doing so)? Please remove heads from sphincters and give the libraries money, because they improve life in an economic downturn for all people smart enough to appreciate them.