Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Sue Halpern: Book Review

First published in February 2018 by Harper, Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Sue Halpern looks at life in small-town New England. This book is about the family you come from, but also the one you create. And what better place to explore those ideals than the library?

CW/TW: medical emergency, death, racism, emotional abuse

Synopsis

Kit is the research librarian in Riverton, New Hampshire. She likes her job because she has the peace and solitude she desires. No one pries into her past, and she likes that just fine.

Sunny is a fifteen-year-old shoplifter assigned a summer of community service at the library. Sunny is curious about the world around her and eager to learn more. She slowly starts to pull Kit out of her isolation.

Rusty is a Wall Street wiz who has run out of luck in the financial world. He finds himself at the library, trying to trace his history.

Together, with a few other library regulars, maybe Kit, Sunny, and Rusty can find what they are searching for and more.

Postitives

This book is a great look into the world of small-town New England and small-town life in general. Especially a small town struggling to survive. Many small towns like Riverton exist, the main industry left decades ago, and the town just withers. Summer Hours at the Robbers Library examines that life.

Found family stories are great to read. This one examines different paths that bring Kit, Sunny, and Rusty together. Add to that, the Four, a group of regulars at the library.

Negatives

I understand that the character was written this way on purpose, but Cal is such a jerk! He claims not to want to be like his father, yet he becomes him, if not a worse form of him.

One other thing I didn’t like about this book is the way the point of view shifts between Kit, Sunny, and Rusty without always clarifying who’s part of the story is being told. Sunny’s parts are the only ones that are easy to know who’s story is being told.

My Opinion

The story is a bit slow, especially the first half. I found as I got further into the book, the faster the pace. The first chapter is a bit different than I had expected, but it’s an introduction to Kit’s story and thus not what one might expect when they decide to read it.

I read somewhere that someone (maybe more) considered this book to be chick-lit. This is not chick-lit, I repeat, this is not chick-lit. It is a contemporary story, realistic fiction, quite possibly even lit-fic.

The book is separated into four parts, and each part is introduced with some of Kit’s backstory. The chapters are broken down into weeks. The dates on the chapter headers are relatively unrelated to the story that is told in that chapter. You know that time is passing, and as such, the story will be coming to an end.

The story is both neatly wrapped up and vague at the end. I won’t go into details, as that would cause spoilers. And I don’t want to do that to anyone!

Overall, I enjoyed this book and gave it a 4-star rating. I understand it may not be for everyone, and that’s ok.

Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other book reviews and my monthly reading wrap-ups.