Summer Hours at the Robbers Library

by Sue Halpern

Not many would agree that a dictionary, stolen from a book store, could set in motion a domino effect that would shake up things at the Riverton Public Library.  As the reference librarian, Kit enjoys the silence of the little used library.  The Four Quartet can occasionally get a little loud, but she actually enjoys the retired gents and only shushes them periodically.  The well dressed, nice looking man who sits at the public computers doesn’t even bother her.   At the morning staff meeting Kit learns she will be responsible for the volunteer, Sunny, who has been assigned community service for her act of theft.  How is Kit going to keep a teen busy for 40 hours a week all summer?  Halpern’s story of a summer in a small depressed northeastern town is captivating.  I always think of a novel as the weaving of a tapestry that creates a complete picture by the final chapter. In Summer Hours at the Robbers Library, the tapestry is slowly taken apart to reveal a wonderful story of a few humans, bruised and damaged as they may be. Pick this one up and be prepared to sit and enjoy it to the very last page.  I did it in one day. Not that I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t want to. 

I wish to thank the generosity of the publisher and Edelweiss for the Advanced Reader’s Copy for my honest review.

PUB:  HarperCollins

PUB DATE:  February 27, 2018

ISBN:  9780062834065

Genre:  General Fiction