Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass offer a delightful love letter to books and libraries in “The Lost Library,” a story kids of all ages will love.
When a little library mysteriously appears outside the History House in Martinville, Evan McClelland decides to grab a couple of books from the collection, including one about how to write a mystery book.
Inspired by it, he decides to try to figure out how the town’s library burned down in 1999, and does the book’s last person to check it out — H.G. Higgins, a famous author — have anything to do with it.
As he follows the clues, he’s helped by his best friend Rafe, an enigmatic former assistant librarian named Al, and a six-toed orange cat named Mortimer. Will Evan be able to solve the decades old mystery and the secrets it holds?
Stead and Mass create a lovely story filled with fun and adorable characters. They also include some great themes, like the impact of books and libraries; the fact that books shape us; being willing to search for the truth (“All of life is a mystery, in a way. And that makes every single one of us a detective”); and the importance of taking our place in the world.
“The Lost Library” is due out Aug. 29.
Five stars out of five.
Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan, provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.