Girls, This Is What Started It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why have I been so fascinated with children's literature lately???? It is because of an adult book I recently read, that references a lot of children's works, though not the ones I have recently posted about!

"The Borrower" is Rebecca Makkai's first novel, and, when I first saw it in the store, its premise was too good to pass up. A young children's librarian, Lucy Hull, in Hannibal, MO, befriends a bookish 10 year old boy named Ian Drake. Ian is an omnivorous reader, and Lucy keeps him supplied with books and suggestions for what he should read. However, his parents, the Drakes, are of some fundamentalist religious beliefs, and have enrolled their child in what are basically anti-Gay classes, run by a suspicious character named Pastor Bob. Concerned about Ian's well being, Lucy, on finding him in the building early one morning, having run away from home the night before, embarks with Ian (it is not clear who is kidnapping whom) on a road trip that takes them from Hannibal to just outside the Canadian border, in a misguided effort to save Ian.

The problem with the book is, once you get them on the road, problems set in, and not just problems that come up in the story. Literary problems, like, where does one go from here? And--how do you end it? Makkai finds a way suggesting a mixture of whimsy and hope, and that leaves one satisfied, but no matter how much of an imagination readers may have, they will question the reality of Lucy's situation--that, even if she gets Ian safely home, there will be consequences for her. And there really aren't.

This reader, darlings, was disappointed that the author did not dig deeper into Ian's situation. Lucy's colleagues already refer to him in private as "the little homosexual boy." The parents enroll him in Pastor Bob's classes, which begs the question of what kind of parents would enroll a boy in an anti-gay class whose hormones have not even kicked in????? And how does Ian REALLY feel about all this?????

With this good a premise, girls, I was hoping that these topics would be examined and explained. But they are not. "The Borrower" is adult fiction, but a superior YA reader, with some life knowledge (like the general definition of "gay") could easily read this, too.

Which may be Makkai's problem. Maybe she was not sure for whom she was writing, and she tried to satisfy both audiences. She deserves an "A" for effort, her prose style is acceptable, if not great, but her book disappoints. She has a great premise, but "The Borrower" does not live up to it!!!!!!

But, darlings, it will have you seeking out the children's books of your past! And that is the best thing that can be said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kiss kiss, loves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!