Tilly and the Bookwanderers (Pages and Co)

TILLY AND THE BOOKWANDERERS (Pages and Co. #1)

Written by Anna James

Published by Harper Collins, September 18, 2018

My star rating – 5 stars!!!

THE SYNOPSIS:

Eleven year-old Tilly has lived above her grandparents’ bookshop ever since her mother disappeared shortly after she was born. Like the rest of her family, Tilly loves nothing more than to escape into the pages of her favourite stories.

One day Tilly realises that classic children’s characters are appearing in the shop through the magic of `book wandering’ – crossing over from the page into real life.

With the help of Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. Tilly is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago, so she bravely steps into the unknown, unsure of what adventure lies ahead and what dangers she may face. Find it on Goodreads

MY REVIEW:

OMG THIS BOOK!!! I’ve heard so many positive things said about it, and I was in need of a little adventure, so I thought “why not?” What ended up happening was I fell into the rabbit hole of this book (pun intended) and absolutely fell in love! I’ve been clawing my way out of a reading slump and thought that a nice light adventure would be the key. It absolutely was! Once I started, I didn’t finish until I turned the last page!

First thing I need to mention is the atmosphere. It was sheer perfection and the place that every bookworm wishes was real. This primarily takes place in a bookstore called Pages and Co. Tilly lives there with her grandparents after her mother disappeared when she was a child. This book store NEEDS to be a real place! It was a 5 storey heaven filled with stacks of books, the smell of pages, comfy chairs and couches, corner nooks, and even a little cafe/bakery offering book themed treats. Even though the book themed treats weren’t a huge part of the story, it still made me want to make things inspired by books! But this book store was a place of magic for every book lover in the world.

This book also takes place in a few other places….. places that may seem familiar to you as they’re right out of the pages of books we read as kids. Mainly Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. Tilly realizes that she has the unique ability to meet characters out of books in real life! Not only that, but she can travel to the real places in books. Some places would be great to visit, while others would be dangerous and terrifying!

The relationships in this book were also amazing! Tilly’s relationship with her grandparents was so heartwarming. They’re a busy family, but close knit, loving and supportive. The employees of the bookstore were also like an extended family. Even a boy from school that she knew of was close to the grandparents as his mom owned a bakery near the book store. It was a comfy little community that felt like a warm hug.

We also get the basics of what Tilly is capable of which is “book wandering”. We as the reader learn of this ability along with her. There’s some trial and error as she learns the rules and capability of this magic. There’s also a secret library where she goes to learn about book wandering. I wish we could have gotten a little further into this, but this is only book one and I feel that there will be more in the coming sequels.

If you’re looking for a light, fun, magical, and comforting read – THIS IS IT!! Yes, it’s a middle grade, but I’m 36 and LOVED every minute of this book!!!! I recommend this to any one who loves books and wishes that they could live in a book as well.

Until next time, happy reading!