HOW TO SAVE A LIBRARY

Middle schoolers become community heroes as they unite to save their public library.

For seventh grader Casey, life with his widowed dad has meant living in 10 homes over 12 years. When his father gets a job at the Cornish Library, they settle into their new neighborhood. Casey joins a soccer team and befriends Addison, a girl who’s a fellow book nerd. But he feels pressure to be someone he’s not when around his teammates, jeopardizing his relationship with Addison. Through this uncertainty, Casey looks to his community, teammate Emmanual Musa (another new kid in town), and the library, a historical landmark, to anchor him. The library’s stunning architecture and resident mallard, Daisy, who nests in the rooftop garden each spring, make it a beloved town hub. When costly repairs threaten the library’s existence, Casey advocates to save it. Along with his friends and a faculty adviser, he enters the Kids Community Action Network contest in hopes of winning $30,000. The first-person narration resonates as Casey learns to recognize true friendship, define his values, and embrace his leadership potential. Casey and his father read white. Unfortunately, Emmanual, who’s cued Black, falls into the trope of the unrealistically perfect, two-dimensional best friend of color. He has little backstory of his own and seems to exist solely to guide and support Casey through his own growth and serve as the peacemaker and moral compass for others.

An ode to public libraries and youth empowerment that falters due to flawed representation.