For example, Lucy’s father ran a chocolate factory in Russia. The Borrower is a tribute to children’s literature, with lots of references to wonderful books.

I grew up reading a lot, and it kinda sucked realizing high school wasn’t anything like Sweet Valley or finding out Carolyn Keene (who was one of my favourite authors growing up) isn’t even a real person. Her realization that her father’s stories may not have been as based on reality as she believed when she was younger is a beautiful, poignant portrayal of our own growing up. Lucy has always accepted these stories as true, albeit exaggerated. I love Lucy’s parents the father especially is such a colourful character, a member of the Russian mafia with so many stories about his childhood. While it appears to be only Ian running away, it soon becomes clear that Lucy is also trying to escape something. Both Lucy and Ian are obsessed with reading, which is something to which I can totally relate. Rebecca Makkai’s The Borroweris a funny, entertaining book, about the love of reading and the transformative potential of stories. Lucy pretends to believe Ian’s story that he’s really just running away to his grandmother’s house in another state, but the truth is, Lucy just wants to show Ian a world beyond his mother’s rigid boundaries. So when Lucy discovers Ian hiding in the library after hours and intending to run away, she goes with him.

Drake also enrols Ian in gay rehab classes with Pastor Bob. Young librarian Lucy Hull wants to help ten-year-old book lover Ian Drake, who has a lively imagination, but whose mother wants him to read only books “with the breath of God in them.” Mrs.

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai