Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck

Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck

Here Lies the Librarian is the fourth book that we’ve read by Richard Peck, and it’s the only one that I didn’t really care for.  It’s not that I didn’t like the book, but rather that it didn’t meet my high expectations.  And perhaps the subject matter failed to entertain me to the extent that his other work has.

Although the book immediately grabbed our attention with a tornado in a graveyard, it seemed to fizzle for us after that first chapter.  It follows Peewee and her brother Jake during the summer of 1914, in Hendricks County, Indiana, as they try to establish a car repair garage, build their own car and race in the first ever automobile race at the county fair.  There’s a little bit of romance, a little bit of humor, but also a little bit of animal cruelty that I always have trouble getting past.

I think for kids or adults interested in cars, car history or car racing, the book would have been a fun, easy read.    But for three kids and a grown woman that don’t give a flying flip about any of those things, there just wasn’t enough humor or character development of the minor characters to keep us excited about each new chapter. 

Overall, I think Mr. Peck did an amazing job, as usual, representing small town Indiana life at the turn of the century.  It’s well written, well researched.   It’s good historical fiction for kids. But it’s still got a LOT of car stuff in there.