Synopsis: Elizabeth has just started working as a page at the New York
Circulating Material Repository - a lending library of objects, contemporary
and historical, common and obscure. And secret, too - for in the repository's
basement lies the Grimm Collection, a room of magical items straight from the
Grimm Brother's fairy tales. But the magic mirrors and seven-league boots and
other items are starting to disappear. And before she knows it, she and her
fellow pages - handsome Marc, perfect Anjali, and brooding Aaron - are suddenly
caught up in an exciting, and dangerous, magical adventure. (from the online description)Review: As a fan of anything fairy tale related (particularly any story where fairy tales are real) and a lover of libraries, this book held much interest for me.
Sadly, it did not live up to my anticipation. The
world-building, while intriguing, was a bit…off? The idea of a library full of
magic items held promise, but the idea that people could “check-out” these
dangerous and deadly items made little sense to me. Even more so was the idea
that they let teenagers run around with these items. This seemed implausible to
me and I just wasn’t able to get into the story as I’d hoped. Perhaps it could
have been saved by other elements, but flat characters, trite villain, and
fast-paced (albeit predictable) plot round out the narrative.
As for the romance, while a bit cliché, held nothing
questionable. It was sweet, built on friendship, and had a touch of honesty and
realism about it that I found refreshing. Nothing more than a bit of kissing
between consenting people, and that was described using rather tame language.
Over-all, this was an average read. If you enjoy fairy
tales, you may enjoy this read, but it wasn’t for me.
Bookmarks: 3 of 5
Awards: None
ISBN: 978-0-545-43652-6
Year Published: 2010
Date Finished: 6-3-2018
Pages: 325
No comments:
Post a Comment