Halpern, Sue. Summer Hours at the Robbers Library. New York: Harper. 2018. Print
What you need to know about him back then is that if the police put seven college students in a lineup looking for the one who played trombone in the marching band, Calvin Sweeney would be picked, ten times out of ten.
And the funny thing is he did play trombone in the marching band, which is how we met.
Description:
Things are pretty quiet in the life of head librarian Kit Jarvis at the Robbers Library. Nestled in the tiny town of Riverton, New Hampshire, the library and its regulars are content with their daily routines and familiar faces. But one summer the library experiences two newcomers, Sunny and Rusty. These newcomers eventually work their way into the library's everyday world in Sue Halpern's humorous, unexpectedly compelling novel, Summer Hours at the Robbers Library.
Sunny is a young teenager arrested and convicted for theft -- of a dictionary. The judge rules her community service to work off her crime is to work in the Riverton Robbers Library for one summer. With no experience, no real desire to be there, but a curiosity about the world of books and the library's off-beat patrons, Sunny begins to grow on the reclusive librarian Kit. (Anyone see the obscure film, Party Girl with Parker Posey with a similar premise? Wonderfully funny movie!)
No one thinks being a librarian is as awesome as being a neurosurgeon, but I always thought I was doing something valuable, putting books in he hands of readers. Books can save lives, too. I really believe that ... Like mine.Kit and Sunny's curiosity is aroused when the other newcomer, Rusty, begins a daily routine on some sort of project with the computers in the library. He is well-dressed, carries an expensive briefcase, drives a Mercedes, and keeps completely to himself. Naturally, Sunny has to find out everything about him and uncover whatever keeps him so occupied.
As long as there are are secrets, there are going to be mysteries....As long as someone has something she wants to keep to herself, someone else is going to want to find out what it is. I guess that's human nature.A simple story so far. But author Halpern has a few secrets up her capable sleeve, as do each of her characters. What brought Kit to this lonely town? What made Sunny steal a dictionary of all things? And what the heck is Rusty researching so diligently? The answers for these questions are only grudgingly given up by the characters. And once out there, these answers drive the plot to a new level of mystery, curiosity, and friendship.
This is a quiet book with no explosives (imagine that in a story about a library!), no squirming sex scenes, and no car chases. What makes a reader like me stick with this book and turn its pages is the strength of these interesting people who hide their personalities and secrets from the world in the quiet of a library. Unraveling the mysteries about their lives and unfolding events that occur once their secrets emerge are enticing incentives for readers to keep reading.
People who don't think the rules apply to them...are surprised and offended when others don't recognize and honor their exemption.Halpern is a master storyteller, creating fascinating characters, clever dialogue, and situations that make Summer Hours at the Robbers Library a solid read full of unpredictable plot twists. Give it a shot. You won't regret poking around in this little gem.
If you're not loved for who you are, you cease to be real. Definitely for the other person, and maybe for yourself, too.
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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Johnson, Marilyn. This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All.
Funny, intelligent, curious, and sometimes sad stories about the lives, staff, and people of public libraries. (previously reviewed here)
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