The Borrower, by Rebecca Makkai

I loved Rebecca Makkai’s novel The Great Believers. While waiting what seemed an endless age for her new novel, I Have Some Questions For You (finally out and next on my to-read list!), I discovered she had a backlist I hadn’t read, and dove into it with eager anticipation.

The Borrower did not disappoint. The main character is Lucy, a young woman working as a children’s librarian, though not particularly passionate about the job. The one patron she is drawn to is ten year old Ian, who has to hide his reading habits from his overprotective and strictly conservative parents. His parents have gone so far as to enrol their kid in a special youth program with a celebrated “pray the gay away” pastor, and Lucy is worried about him. When Ian runs away from home and hides out in the library, Lucy impulsively decides to abet his escape, setting in motion a chain of events that take her farther and farther beyond the point where she can ever return to her old life.

I adored both Lucy and Ian as characters, and found this a quick and compelling read. I had a couple of small plot quibbles, and I’m not entirely sure I was happy with some aspects of the ending, but none of that kept me from finding this book absolutely engaging.