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Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | J FICTION JAM | Searching... Unknown |
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Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J FICTION JAM | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
The second magical bookwandering adventure in the nationally bestselling Pages & Co. series, featuring Tilly Pages as she journeys to France to wander inside a peculiar book of fairytales. Perfect for fans of Inkheart and The Land of Stories .
Tilly and her best friend Oskar are bookwanderers: a remarkable group of people who, using the magical power of books, can travel inside any story they choose. But on a wintry visit to Paris, the friends wander inside a book of fairy tales to find that peculiar things are happening: characters are getting lost, stories are all mixed up, and mysterious plot holes are opening without warning . . .
It's up to Tilly and Oskar to figure out what--or who--is behind the chaos. And after the friends come face-to-face with an old foe, they realize that villains can exist outside the pages of books . . . and that sometimes, you don't get to live happily ever after.
Praise for the Pages & Co. series:
"Mr. Lemoncello would love to go bookwandering at Pages and Co. If you love books, you're going to LOVE this book!"-- Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Mr. Lemoncello series
*"Highly recommended for readers young and old. An important reminder of the centrality of stories in shaping our lives." -- School Library Journal , starred review
"Winsomely harking back to the oldest children's classics, this has special appeal for romantic bibliophiles." -- Kirkus Reviews
"This series is made for book-lovers and attests to the power and importance of stories." - School Library Journal
Author Notes
Anna James is a writer and journalist. She was a school librarian before joining The Bookseller as their book news editor. She now writes for a variety of newspapers and magazines, and chairs events at bookshops and literary festivals across the UK. She lives in north London, in a flat full of books. Visit Anna online at anna-james.com. Follow her on Twitter @acaseforbooks.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5--7--In this series sequel, Tilly and her friend Oskar try to rescue lost fairy tales, a particular challenge because they are changeable stories based on oral traditions. Luckily, Tilly and Oskar both come from families of bookwanderers, meaning they can travel back and forth between the real world and the world of fiction. Tilly's grandmother has even bookwandered into fairy tales and knows about mapping stories given her past work in a map room of the Underlibrary, a hidden magical library. Bookwandering becomes fraught with difficulties as Enoch Chalk, a renegade Source (fictional) character, is still missing and Amelia, the Head Librarian of the Underlibrary, is losing her job. Her replacement, Melville Underwood, immediately begins to limit bookwandering. Underwood's shadowy past and hints of danger intrigue Tilly and Oskar, who bookwander in secret. As they morph inside stories, book magic happens and the text transmogrifies too. As gateways between books appear, plot holes open and book magic leaks. VERDICT This series is made for book-lovers and attests to the power and importance of stories.--Lisa Gieskes, Richland County Public Library, Columbia, SC
Kirkus Review
Why is the new head of the Underlibrary cracking down on bookwandering? After Enoch Chalk escaped into fiction in series opener The Bookwanderers (2018), the old Head Librarian was disgraced. Her replacement, the smarmy demagogue Melville, begins his tenure with a bang: He forbids Oskar and Tilly from bookwandering, bans Tilly's whole family from the British Underlibrary, and implements tracking measures to locate every bookwanderer. Oskar and Tilly are ready to battle the new regime, and they don't understand the wariness of Tilly's grandparents, who warn them to obey the new rules. When they disobey the adults' dire warnings and enter a book of fairy tales, they discover horrible dangers. Fairy-tale characters are dissolving into black ooze or vanishing altogether. Oskar's kidnapped into Rapunzel's story, and even Tilly, who's half-fictional on her father's side, is hard-pressed to rescue him. The fairy-tale boundaries are so corrupted that Rapunzel is besieged by countless worthless Prince Charmings--Tilly and Oskar had best find out what's wrong posthaste. Droll illustrations spice up the text, though frequent changes of typeface add distraction rather than flair. An author's note on fairy tales is insufficiently clear on the distinction between the oral tradition and original tales. The story itself is clearer on this point, which is lucky, as fairy tales' having no original source edition is key to the adventure. Oskar has brown skin; Tilly (and most other human characters) seems to be white. Winsomely harking back to the oldest children's classics, this has special appeal for romantic bibliophiles. (Fantasy. 9-11) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
1 A Little Magic Five people proved to be far too many to fit inside a wardrobe. "Remind me again why we had to bookwander from in here?" Tilly asked, face squished uncomfortably close to her grandad's shoulder. "As I rather think you know," he replied, "we don't technically have to bookwander from inside a wardrobe--but it adds effect, don't you think?" But he sounded decidedly less sure than when he'd first suggested the idea half an hour ago. "I mean, if the effect you're going for is a much closer relationship with each other and our personal hygiene choices, then yes, it does add effect," Oskar said, voice muffled by Grandma's scarf, which was simultaneously tickling his nose and getting fluff in his mouth every time he spoke. "I bet the Pevensies didn't have to deal with this," Tilly said. "Yes, but they were emptying straight out the other side of their wardrobe," Grandma said. "Which does rather give them an advantage." "Yes, yes, okay," Grandad admitted. "It has become abundantly clear that my attempts at a little poetry and whimsy weren't entirely thought through." He shuffled his way back toward the door and shoved it open. Tilly; her best friend,Oskar; her two grandparents; and her mother all fell gasping into the cinnamon-scented air of the bookshop. "I mean, it isn't even a wardrobe," Oskar complained. "It's a stock cupboard." "Honestly," Grandad huffed. "I was just trying to add a sense of adventure. Mirror the journey into Narnia, have some fun. Goodness knows we could all do with a generous dollop of fun at the moment. A little magic." "It's already literally magic," Tilly pointed out. "I'm wasted on this family, I truly am," Grandad said. "Shall we try again from out here? We've still got an hour or so beforewe need to go to the Underlibrary for the Inking Ceremony." "Actually, Dad, I think I might pass on this one," Tilly's mum, Bea, said quietly, smoothing down her crumpled clothes."The shop is so busy before Christmas, and I'm sure an extra pair of hands wouldn't go amiss. You know how it is. . . ." She trailed off, smiled wanly, and headed out to Pages & Co., the bookshop the Pages family lived in and owned. Tilly sagged a little. "She hasn't bookwandered once since we got back from A Little Princess ," Tilly said, trying not to sound petulant. "I know, sweetheart, but try not to worry," Grandad said. "I'm sure she'll get back into it soon enough. It's no surprise after being trapped inside one story for nearly twelve years. Imagine how frightening that must have been for her." As always, when he thought about his daughter being imprisoned inside a tampered-with copy of A Little Princess , a look of distress swept across his face. "But we've got her back for good," he went on. "And now that we know Enoch Chalk was the one who trapped her, he won't be able to get away with anything like that ever again." "If he's ever found," Tilly pointed out. "Did Amelia manage to find out anything about the book he escaped from before she was fired?" Oskar asked. "Amelia wasn't fired," Grandad said. "She was asked to step back from her position as Head Librarian at the Underlibrary while the situation is investigated properly." "I mean, that sounds a lot like getting fired to me," Oskar said under his breath. "And, in answer to your question: no, frustratingly not," Grandma said. "She barely had any time before the Bookbinders started poisoning the other librarians' views about her capabilities. They'd been looking for a reason to get rid of her as soon as she was first given the job, and her handling of Chalk was merely an excuse. Those hard-liners, with their silly, self-important--not to mention self-appointed--name, blustering around pretending they were focused on anything other than their own power and influence." Grandad laid a hand on Grandma's arm and she took a deep breath. "Sorry," she said. "Now is not the time, and here is not the place." "Should I know who the Bookbinders are?" Oskar said, and Tilly was glad, not for the first time, that he didn't mind asking about what he didn't know. "They are nonsense!" Grandad said. "A group of librarians who push for stricter rules and for more control for the Underlibrary over the lives of bookwanderers. They rallied around Chalk--although they must be red-faced now that everyone knows he was a renegade Source character. But embarrassment often pushes people several more steps down the path toward hatred, and I worry that their championing of a colleague who proved to be fictional is fuel for their witch hunt of Amelia." "Nonsense they may be," Grandma said. "But they're bringing an alarming number of librarians over to their ways of thinking. People are worried about how the role of the Underlibrary is evolving, and fear is another thing that pulls people toward hatred." "Aren't the librarians worried about where Chalk is?" Oskar said. "Isn't it dangerous for him to be out there somewhere?" "I think they're torn between concern about what he is up to and wanting to sweep it under the carpet so the other Underlibraries don't find out." "The other Underlibraries?" Oskar asked. "In other countries,you mean?" "Yes," Grandad said. "There are Underlibraries in most countries, although not all of them have Source Libraries. But I think that's enough politics for now; we have a long afternoon ahead of us, which will likely be even more draining than an eternal winter ruled over by an evil queen. Let's have something to eat." Excerpted from Pages and Co. : the Lost Fairy Tales by Anna James All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
