The Lost Library

I've bought too many books recently...picture this: We're in Barnes & Noble at Norterra and G is looking at graphic novels. As she flips through one she's read before as a refresher for the sequel, I peruse the middle grade shelves. I spot a Garbage Pail Kids book by R. L. Stine (!!!), a book about a magic house, and a World War 2 book about kid spies, but then I pick up a book I've seen many times before. A book that did not draw me in with its cover despite the giant orange cat. Nor was I intrigued by the title featuring a library. It just didn't seem that interesting, but this time I picked it up and actually read the description.

A few things jumped out at me: a mystery, a little free library, a cat that guards the library, AND show more ghosts (including a ghost librarian!). I brought it home with me and I'm so glad I did.

I hope G will read The Lost Library. Evan and Rafe are 5th graders about to be middle schoolers and she's ALSO about to leave 5th grade behind so she might think they're too young for her (kids like to read up). But I'm hoping the cat saving mice will draw her in. This book is about so much more than just the mystery of the little library—it's also about grief and loss, forgiveness and overcoming. I loved it. show less

Told in turns by a ghost librarian, a cat who fancies himself the Guardian of the Books, and a young boy turned detective, this is the story of a library that was lost and how a new little (free) library ignited the spark that led to the solving of an old mystery.

Rebecca Stead is one of those authors who, in my world, can do no wrong. This book is further proof of that fact. So lovingly told, it’s a sweet and wonderful story (but one that is never in danger of becoming saccharine) with humor and pathos and a cool little mystery at its heart. And there’s a lot of heart here. One thousand percent recommended.

The town of Martinville's public library burned down when fifth-grader Evan's dad was a kid, and has never been rebuilt, but one day, a Little Free Library appears, and people begin adding to it. Evan begins to investigate the mystery - starting with some of the books inside the LFL, some of which were old library books returned the very same day of the fire, and one of which was checked out by none other than his dad.

But Evan only tells part of the story; the rest of the narrative duties fall to a cat called Mortimer and a ghost called AL, who lives in the History House along with Ms. Scoggin and Mr. Brock, who died in the library fire. People, felines, and even mice have a role in revealing what really happened in the library that show more night, and a role in rebuilding as well.

Poignant, and with a surprise twist or two. Also a story about friendship, and transitioning from elementary to middle school.

See also: The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

Quotes

Being a Great Reader has nothing to do with reading great sophisticated books, or reading great long books, or even with reading a great many books.
Being a Great Reader means feeling something about books. (AL, 59)

I am not upset when others don't love the books I love. We each have our own book spaces inside us, and they do not match up perfectly, nor should they. (AL, 61)

...Ms. Scoggin stayed and stayed. For me.
She waited for me to take my place in the world again. Waited for me to let go of her.
This, I believe, is similar to what mothers do. (AL, 194)

"I always thought writers were from someplace special, you know?"
...
"Maybe this is someplace special....Maybe everywhere is special to the people who live there." (Demetri and Evan, 211-212) show less

This charming tale is the story of an aging cat, a thoughtful little boy, and libraries, one lost and one little. Evan is delighted to see a little library that seems to have appeared overnight. He selects a couple of books that he soon discovers has links to the old library that burned down, and to his father as well. Told by Evan, by the cat, and by a ghost librarian, this story will delight children as well as adults. It’s a clever story, and illustrates that the easiest answer won’t necessarily be the right one, Occam’s razor notwithstanding. Quite well written, this is children’s entertainment at its best.

A Little Free Library appears one morning on the town green, full of books from the public library that burned down years ago. Evan is curious, especially since, when he checks the borrowing slips in the books, he finds that his dad checked out many of them. When he asks his dad about the books, he doesn't get a proper answer. Over the next few days, Evan finds himself more and more intrigued by the mystery of the new little library, and the bigger mystery of the fire that consumed the old one.

That summary covers the main plot of the book, but there are several other characters (a cat and a few ghosts) that add dimension to the story. I wanted to like this book more than I did, but there were just too many plot holes for me to fall show more down, and the general tone of the book was, to my ear, a bit twee. The ending was over the top and left me shaking my head. Perhaps the intended readership will enjoy it more than I did, but I can't see myself recommending it to them. show less

certain parts of this are just really great - the friendship between evan and rafe (and rafe's overprotective parents), the way the town loves the little free library so much that it grows every day, the way edward loves mice (because of a book he read as a child!) and traps them but doesn't kill them, the relationship between al and ms scoggin, and of course mortimer the dear cat. and the way that al was not a ghost all along, but just needed her purpose. but somehow as a whole, this only sort of worked for me. i didn't love it like i thought i would, but i did love certain parts. just not the whole all together. i love the idea of books and a library bringing a community together, giving meaning. but i hated the way edward talked with show more evan, the way he refused to discuss anything real with him. it felt unnatural and poorly done to me, and that hung over the whole book.

i wanted it to be better, but still do like it for what it is, and all the positives that can be taken from it. show less

It's taken me several days to sort out my thoughts for a review. Will the older elementary-grade audience like it? How about adults: does our perspective influence how we like the way the story unwinds? And therein lay my decision to rate the book 3½ stars instead of the 4, which I was leaning towards. In the beginning, the abrupt chapter changes between story participants was off-putting, so would kids persevere? Would the book be abandoned or would curiosity prevail?

I enjoyed the story and felt engaged with Evan and Rafe. A great characterization there. I also could understand Evan's Dad (Edward) being so reluctant to openly discuss the issues around the old library burning down. However, this was a secret that created some show more unnecessarily false tension in the book. This conflicted aspect detracted from the burnt library mystery, central to the plot. I'm uncertain whether the younger readership would process this the same way, as I did, but does introduce an irrelevant negative flaw to the story as a whole.

Otherwise, the novel is a heart-warming illustration of community spirit, the value and joy in books and reading, kid-friendships, the progression from elementary to middle school grades, and best of all, kid-adventures in exploring unknown territory. The ghostly aspect is a great fun-tingle and the cat-talk with mice an effective device to introduce the ambience around mice and their part of the story. I still have no idea how engaged kids will be with the story and whether they'll read far enough to be sucked into the mystical world presented here. show less