In the 1950s, Sylvia Blackwell arrives in the town of East Mole to take on the job of children’s librarian. She finds no fault with the dingy, musty cottage her landlady shows her. She is excited to start her new job and life.
Although she and her boss seem to dislike each other on sight, she fits into the town fairly quickly, reorganizing and making improvements to the library, making friends with her neighbors, all but one, and tutoring her landlady’s granddaughter, Lizzy, for the 11+ exams with the help of her whip-smart, eleven-year-old neighbor, Sam.
By and large, she is a creature of good will, happy to help the children learn and become interested in books. And she is succeeding but has not reckoned with the effects of envy and ill-will. And she makes the mistake of falling in love with a married man.
I thought at first that this book was going to be a standard romance, but it deals with some more complex issues. I was interested in the story and ultimately found it somewhat touching. I felt, though, that Part Two, the last 40 pages, was a little too concerned with trying to tie up every little loose end and takes too long to do it.
What? Me Read? 