Do You Believe in Magic?

Two down and one to go.... books which involve magic that is. This one is titled "The Grimm Legacy" by Polly Shulman. Grimm refers to The Brothers Grimm, authors of a multitude of fairy tales which always have an element of magic; dancing slippers or seven league boots, artifacts which help or sometimes hinder the hero of a story.

In this book magical artifacts are a part of a very special lending Library in New York. Yes, you can actually take out and use something magical. At the beginning we meet Elizabeth, a teenage girl living with her father and stepmother and has two stepsisters. She has always loved fairy tales as they connect her to her mother. After doing a school assignment on The Brothers Grimm, Elizabeth is asked by her teacher if she would like a job at this special Library. Not fitting in at school she is anxious for the opportunity and, after a very unusual interview, she gets the job. There it is her responsibility to find old and unusual objects that people would like to borrow, like a 19th century doublet, and send them down to the main circulating area through a system of pneums.

There are 3 other pages (a term to describe the students who work there) who show her the ropes and fill her in on the mystery of some disappearing magical objects from the Grimm Collection, a very special collection that only a few people are able to access and use. They also tell her of the mysterious disappearance of two young workers. Weird things happen, magic is used and Elizabeth is torn in who to believe.

I quite liked this book with its interesting characters, of things that are not as they seem, of the very real danger of using things that could have disastrous results. Many parts kept me on the edge of my seat and I think you will like the adventure as well as the romance.