Here Lies the Librarian

Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck

AR Reading Level: 5.1
On the library stacks: YA Fiction
Recommended for: Grade 6+

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In pre-WWI rural Indiana, Peewee (Eleanor) McGrath and her brother Jake operate a small garage. They don't even have a paved road to their livery-stable-turned-garage, but they are obsessed with cars and Jake has dreams of racing a car that he is building from scratch.

After a tornado rips through the town, four beautiful library science students from Indianapolis come to the town seeking to run the library which has been shut down since the librarian died under the stacks a few years before. These women not only change life for the town, but most especially for Peewee who has become quite rugged without parents and Jake who falls head over heels.

This is a must-read tale if you are a fan of Indiana, librarians or race car driving. I thought it was a cute coming-of-age type story, but it seemed to be missing a little spark for me. Still, it was a quick read and I enjoyed it.

Also reviewed by: Books & other thoughts and Lesa's Book Critiques

Book 53 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge, Book 42 of 55 for the Countdown Challenge (2006), Book 25 of 25 for the MG Reading Challenge, Book 11 of 12 for the Historical Fiction Challenge, Book 25 of 50 for the YA Reading Challenge

Source: Purchased