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How to Save a Library
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Expected 5 May 26Casey is tired of always being the new kid at school. Now, for the first time in Casey’s life, he finally feels settled—that is until his dad’s job at the library is threatened.
Every year Casey’s life seems to be boxed up and shipped to a new city. His dad thinks moving is an adventure, but at this point Casey is so over adventure. In Armstrong's Point, Casey life finally feels stable. His talent on the soccer field has made him a natural fit with the popular kids and he loves the apartment he shares with his dad.
But when Casey discovers the local library, where his dad works, is in need of extensive restorative repairs, his future once again feels uncertain. In order to save the one place in the world that feels like home, Casey joins the Kids Community Action Network (C.A.N) where his team will compete for community funding. Unfortunately, this means working with Addison—a former friend, turned not-so-friend—who isn’t going to make it easy on him.
Award-winning author Colleen Nelson weaves together a story of heart and humor, highlighting the power of libraries to bring communities together.
Every year Casey’s life seems to be boxed up and shipped to a new city. His dad thinks moving is an adventure, but at this point Casey is so over adventure. In Armstrong's Point, Casey life finally feels stable. His talent on the soccer field has made him a natural fit with the popular kids and he loves the apartment he shares with his dad.
But when Casey discovers the local library, where his dad works, is in need of extensive restorative repairs, his future once again feels uncertain. In order to save the one place in the world that feels like home, Casey joins the Kids Community Action Network (C.A.N) where his team will compete for community funding. Unfortunately, this means working with Addison—a former friend, turned not-so-friend—who isn’t going to make it easy on him.
Award-winning author Colleen Nelson weaves together a story of heart and humor, highlighting the power of libraries to bring communities together.
224 pages, Paperback
Expected publication May 5, 2026
26 people want to read
About the author
Colleen Nelson
32 books131 followersColleen Nelson is the author of YA fiction books Finding Hope (2016), 250 Hours (2015), The Fall (2013) and Tori by Design (2011). 'The Fall' and 'Tori by Design' both won the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award. 'The Fall' was also nominated for the White Pine Award. Currently living in Winnipeg with her husband, two young sons and three grown step-children, Colleen manages to eke out time to write everyday, but usually in the early morning after a strong cup of coffee. A junior high school teacher for ten years before having children, Colleen is familiar and comfortable with the tricky phase of life called 'adolescence'. Now a Teacher-Librarian in Winnipeg, Canada, Colleen is constantly on the look-out for books that will catch the attention of her reading-reluctant sons.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 21, 2025
Copy provided by Publisher Spotlight
Casey and his father have moved around a lot with his father's job as a librarian, and have most recently landed in Cornish, where they have been for over a year. It's a great small town, and the two rent an apartment from Mr. Nakamura. Casey plays soccer with Steve and Alex, who can be unpleasant jerks at times. There is a lot of tension between Casey and his former best friends Addison and Vivienne, but the cause of this is not revealed until later in the book. When the public library needs expensive renovations, Casey is worried that his father will lose his job, and they will have to move again. To try to avoid this, he joins a school club called Kids C.A.N. (Community Action Network) that is working to win a contest that will provide $30,000 to a community project. The library is heavily used, and has a huge fan base, in part because of a duck, Daisy, who comes back yearly to nest on the roof! The only two kids willing to work with the grumpy Mr. Olivera who was "voluntold" to help? Addision and Vivienne. Luckily, Addison also wants to work to help the library, since her mother has a bakery right next door. This also makes sense, because Casey and Addison's friendship involved a lot of bonding over books. Impressed by the money making ideas that the girls have, Casey tries to play to his own strengths to earn something for the project, and approaches his soccer coach with an proposal. What if his team ran a soccer camp for younger players? Sign ups go so well that the Coach asks the girls' team to do something similar. Steve continues to be a jerk on and off the soccer field, and after a scuffle during a game leads to Casey being injured, Casey finally stands up to him. Will this be enough to repair his friendship with Addison? Most importantly, will the Kids C.A.N. group be able to win the contest and provide the money the library needs in order to keep Casey's dad employed??
Strengths: There were several threads of suspense that ran through this, and I don't want to ruin any of the twists. I liked Casey a lot; he seemed like a solid Everyboy who is trying to live his life and not irritate people around him. He is active in soccer, gets along with his dad, is a good student, and occasionally has to deal with difficult relationships. Every school has jerks like Steve, and it was good to see that he at least apologizes at the end of the book. Addison and Casey's relationship also makes sense; I wouldn't have talked to Casey under the circumstances, either, even if Vivienne was more understanding. Many libraries are having difficulties, and avid readers will be invested in saving the Cornish Library.
Weaknesses: While I appreciated the happy ending, the help came out of left field. The cover of this might make it a hard sell to 7th and 8th graders, since it looks very young. It wouldn't have hurt to add more of an air of possible romance between Addison and Casey.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a library centered story like Sumner, Jamie. The Summer of June, Bishop's The Things You Can't Say, Tan, Amy Rebecca. A Kind of Paradise, Coats, J. Anderson. The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls.
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
Casey and his father have moved around a lot with his father's job as a librarian, and have most recently landed in Cornish, where they have been for over a year. It's a great small town, and the two rent an apartment from Mr. Nakamura. Casey plays soccer with Steve and Alex, who can be unpleasant jerks at times. There is a lot of tension between Casey and his former best friends Addison and Vivienne, but the cause of this is not revealed until later in the book. When the public library needs expensive renovations, Casey is worried that his father will lose his job, and they will have to move again. To try to avoid this, he joins a school club called Kids C.A.N. (Community Action Network) that is working to win a contest that will provide $30,000 to a community project. The library is heavily used, and has a huge fan base, in part because of a duck, Daisy, who comes back yearly to nest on the roof! The only two kids willing to work with the grumpy Mr. Olivera who was "voluntold" to help? Addision and Vivienne. Luckily, Addison also wants to work to help the library, since her mother has a bakery right next door. This also makes sense, because Casey and Addison's friendship involved a lot of bonding over books. Impressed by the money making ideas that the girls have, Casey tries to play to his own strengths to earn something for the project, and approaches his soccer coach with an proposal. What if his team ran a soccer camp for younger players? Sign ups go so well that the Coach asks the girls' team to do something similar. Steve continues to be a jerk on and off the soccer field, and after a scuffle during a game leads to Casey being injured, Casey finally stands up to him. Will this be enough to repair his friendship with Addison? Most importantly, will the Kids C.A.N. group be able to win the contest and provide the money the library needs in order to keep Casey's dad employed??
Strengths: There were several threads of suspense that ran through this, and I don't want to ruin any of the twists. I liked Casey a lot; he seemed like a solid Everyboy who is trying to live his life and not irritate people around him. He is active in soccer, gets along with his dad, is a good student, and occasionally has to deal with difficult relationships. Every school has jerks like Steve, and it was good to see that he at least apologizes at the end of the book. Addison and Casey's relationship also makes sense; I wouldn't have talked to Casey under the circumstances, either, even if Vivienne was more understanding. Many libraries are having difficulties, and avid readers will be invested in saving the Cornish Library.
Weaknesses: While I appreciated the happy ending, the help came out of left field. The cover of this might make it a hard sell to 7th and 8th graders, since it looks very young. It wouldn't have hurt to add more of an air of possible romance between Addison and Casey.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a library centered story like Sumner, Jamie. The Summer of June, Bishop's The Things You Can't Say, Tan, Amy Rebecca. A Kind of Paradise, Coats, J. Anderson. The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls.
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
October 28, 2025
3.5 stars. This was a cute book about a boy who is raised by his librarian dad. They move all of the time (not exactly sure why?) and our main character is tired of moving. He's finally found a place he wants to stay, but the library is in danger of being shut down because it needs to many repairs. Our MC joins Kids C.A.N.- a group that allows kids to make change in their community- and compete to win money for the library. We also see our MC's love for soccer and his friends. He was close friends with 2 girls who had a lot in common with him, but then something happened that made them dislike him. As the reader, we don't find out what that is until 1/2 way through the book. He also has friends from the soccer team, but they're a bad influence and I liked the commentary about how important it is that we choose friends that build us up, not put us into bad situations. The one thing I didn't love was the inclusion of the gay relationship at the end. It felt very awkward and like a plot twist and I don't love when that is used as a plot device. Theres also a really convenient 'oh, you're loaded and can step in and save the day!? GREAT!' ending and I don't love that. Overall, this was cute but I'm kind of glad I read it solo instead of with my kids.
October 6, 2025
Sweet story full of emotion, heartache, friendship, and finding your place/purpose. Casey's constant bad luck was almost draining at times, watching a kid go through so much and feel so down from so many sides of his life (school, home, friendships). What I did appreciate was the fast moving timeline and the evolution of what was happening. Casey's ability to recognize and work through emotions was something I thought was a great conversation starter for kids reading the book. I read with my own 10 year old and found we were able to start conversations about who they think is wrong/right and how they would handle this situation. Overall really enjoyed the story. It felt hard and heavy at for the first 60% of the book, but I liked that there was an evolution to the characters.
November 27, 2025
Colleen Nelson knows her audience masterfully well and presents themes that are genre perfect. Navigating friendships, trying to fit in, standing up for yourself and others, these are battles that middle-grade readers face everyday. In How to Save a Library, main character Casey is bravely dealing with all that and more. His yearning to belong and set down roots is written with tenderness and compassion, truly investing the reader in his journey. Sports passages woven throughout are lively and engaging and will keep even the most reluctant reader enthralled in this charming novel. The heartwarming library plot and Daisy the duck (love!) are cherries on top.
November 7, 2025
How to Save a Library (Hardcover)
by Colleen Nelson
A sweet story of finding resilience in the local library. Its not only the books that are important, but the connections with the community that the library brings.
July 17, 2025
A little sweet, a little silly, but who doesn't want to save a library?
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews