The Bookwanderers (Pages & Co. #1)

Tilly, 11, has lived with her grandparents in their London bookstore, Pages and Co., since her mother's mysterious disappearance shortly after Tilly's birth. Tilly struggles to make friends but finally begins to connect with her neighbor Oskar. After she discovers her mother's box of favorite books, two of Tilly's favorite characters, L.M. Montgomery's Anne and Lewis Carroll's Alice, show up at the shop, and Tilly realizes that she is a bookwanderer: someone who "reads a bit harder than most people" and can be transported inside the story. Together, Tilly and Oskar learn the complicated rules of bookwandering from Tilly's grandparents and the staff of the Underlibrary, which exists beneath the British Museum. One employee, Enoch Chalk, follows Tilly through various books, and his creepy ways raise her suspicions. As she and Oskar investigate the truth about Chalk, they uncover more about Tilly's mother, as well as the dangers and magic of bookwandering. Tilly's friendship struggles and love of reading ground James's imaginative debut and, together with satisfying twists and a well-constructed bookwanderer's mythology, create an affectionate ode to books and book lovers. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)

Tilly is an 11-year-old orphan who lives with her grandparents, owners of the magical bookstore Pages & Co. Her adventure begins during winter break when she explores the bookstore and notices unusual characters among the stacks. Her grandparents are alarmed at these sightings because they know these characters materialize out of books—they are fiction made real. They soon suspect that Tilly is able to bookwander, which means she can travel back and forth between the real world and the world of fiction. She especially likes to bookwander with Anne Shirley, of "Anne of Greene Gables," because she feels kinship with her as an orphan. But can Tilly bookwander to find her long-lost family? Readers will want to become familiar with the literary characters Tilly meets. Tilly's grandfather succinctly puts the importance of books into perspective. He says, "The books we love when we're growing up shape us in a special way...The characters in the books we read help us decide who we want to be." VERDICT James's debut will speak to the heart of bibliophiles and is highly recommended for readers young and old. An important reminder of the centrality of stories in shaping our lives.-Lisa Gieskes, Richland County Public Library, Columbia, SC