Lucy Hull, a young childrens librarian in Hannibal, Missouri, finds herself both kidnapper and kidnapped when her favourite patron, ten-year-old Ian Drake, runs away from home. The precocious Ian is addicted to reading, but needs Lucys help to smuggle books past his overbearing mother, who has enrolled Ian in weekly anti-gay classes. When Lucy finds Ian camped out in the library after hours with a backpack of provisions and an escape plan, she allows herself to be hijacked by him and the pair embark on a spontaneous road trip. But is it just Ian who is running away? And should Lucy really be trying to save a boy from his own parents?

Rebecca Makkais stories have been anthologised in theBest American Short Stories2010, 2009, and 2008, and have appeared inTin House,Ploughshares,The Threepenny Review, and on Public Radio's Selected Shorts.The Borroweris her first novel. She lives north of Chicago with her husband and two daughters.

For more information visit Rebeccas website:www.rebeccamakkai.com