FIC: Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Sue Halpern

June: Fiction Pick

I like books about Libraries.  This one got my curiosity because of the name, Robbers Library, name adapted from the founder, Roger.  This story concerns people whose lives have become upset, and who find the Library a place of refuge. The library in question is located in the small quiet town of Riverton, New Hampshire, once prosperous, but now passed over by businesses going overseas.  Kit, the head librarian, wants nothing more than to be left alone with her beloved books, to recover from her own life traumas. Into her world comes fifteen year old Sunny, a radical home schooler, assigned community service in the Library by a judge for shoplifting a dictionary.  Then there’s Rusty, a Wall Street high flyer who has crashed to earth. Along with the other regulars at the Library, they find solace in each other and create a new story for themselves. Not great literature, but a good read. – Judith

From journalist and author Sue Halpern comes a wry, observant look at contemporary life and its refugees.  Halpern’s novel is an unforgettable tale of family…the kind you come from and the kind you create.

People are drawn to libraries for all kinds of reasons. Most come for the books themselves, of course; some come to borrow companionship. For head librarian Kit, the public library in Riverton, New Hampshire, offers what she craves most: peace. Here, no one expects Kit to talk about the calamitous events that catapulted her out of what she thought was a settled, suburban life. She can simply submerge herself in her beloved books and try to forget her problems.

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