A children's librarian discovers her favorite young patron has run away from his parents' anti-gay-conversion efforts and stowed away in her car; the two end up on an improvised, book-fueled road trip across America.
Books mentioned in The Borrower (35)
The Borrowers by Mary Norton: “The Borrowers, by Mary Norton.”
Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre: “‘Being and Nothingness’! You could give them little Sartre badges!”
Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling: “Roald Dahl, Lois Lowry, Harry Potter, and similar authors”
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens: “I told eighteen-year-old Ian to read David Copperfield (“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show”)”
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien: “Well, I think I want to read The Hobbit.”
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes: “I got books off the shelf for Ian—Johnny Tremain and a biography of Henry VIII.”
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey: “he ... picked Blueberries for Sal without looking.”
The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder: “I could let him read The Egypt Game.”
The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen: “ ‘The Ugly Duckling.’ That’s what you want.”
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle: “I practically trampled a roaming toddler to get at A Wrinkle in Time”
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: “The book was Anna Karenina, from the Lynton library.”
Bunnicula by James Howe: “crouched on the floor of the library, reading Bunnicula and bouncing just like he was now.”
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham: “He picked up Carry On, Mr. Bowditch from the edge of my desk.”
Green Eggs and Ham by Seuss: “As if her reading three minutes of Green Eggs and Ham wouldn’t make half the children cry”
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder: ““I told my mom we’re reading Little House in the Big Woods again.”
The BFG by Roald Dahl: “after you read us The BFG you showed us that part.”
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger: “the fifteen-year-old Ian who’d just fallen in love with The Catcher in the Rye”
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame: “How could Ian, the child who’d read The Wind in the Willows seven times, fall for it?”
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt: “Well, he brought home this novel, Tuck Everlasting?”
Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov: “And the play was Uncle Vanya— not usually a raucous affair, aside from the gunshots.”
Lord of the Flies by William Golding: ““Books to Read When You’re 12” started with The Giver and The Golden Compass and ended with Lord of the Flies.”
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry: “swapped with the card in the back of Misty of Chincoteague.”
Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare: “whatever production of Much Ado About Nothing it had last been washed for.”
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry: “He started Number the Stars before we were even out of the store.”
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume: “I was keeping Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing behind the desk to sneak to him whenever he came without his babysitter.”
The Princess Bride by William Goldman: “I couldn’t resist adding The Princess Bride.”
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson: “I wondered if Sonya would let Ian stay up to finish Treasure Island.”
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray: “all I had of his was Vanity Fair, and I thought that Becky Sharp would do best in the presence of ladies”
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls: ““There should be ones with big teardrops,” he said, “like for the side of Where the Red Fern Grows.”