Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James

I felt like a child again reading it and I know I will be reading this many times with my baby girl when she is older. It’s just the sort of book to curl up with – hot chocolate in hand, in front of the fire. I devoured this from start to finish and felt like I had been transported to another world. You were willing her on as she flowered as the heroine of this story, overcoming obstacles with bravery and love. There’s a villain and a quest to find the truth about her parents for Tilly, along with her new companion, and it was a real pleasure to read these moments, wondering at each turn what would happen next. I also loved the trips to Kings Cross, London, to the British Library which became ‘the hub’ for this amazing story. Anna describes those book worlds so well (I won’t spoil them for you) and the characters within those books come alive in such a vivid way. The secrets then start to emerge of the magic that occurs in this bookshop and then it gets really interesting!Īs the story goes on it’s a such a delicious mix of adventure (entering those magical books worlds), drama and thrilling moments. Her relationship with her grandparents is heart-warming and we later learn of a sad history to do with Tilly’s parents which seems to have brought her closer to her them. She constantly thinks about her favourite book characters and wishes she could live in those stories. It’s lovely to enter her mind- with the normal thoughts of an eleven year old girl of wondering whether the girls at school like her and her slightly awkward (at first) friendship with the boy across the road, contrasted with the joy she finds in her imagination and books. Tilly’s love of books and her vivid imagination are captured by Anna from the start. Tilly’s family own the bookshop so she lives above it with her grandparents and is basically living the dream! There is also a cafe contained within, and a marvelous chef trying new recipes (remember the cakes from Enid Blyton’s “Faraway Tree” that pop and fill your mouth with honey? Yeah, those…) A cosy place with different levels, little reading corners and nooks and lots and lots of books! But danger may be lurking on the very next page…įrom the moment I opened the first page I felt I had entered a book full of atmosphere and magic. Tilly’s new ability could even help her solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago. Not only can she follow Anne and Alice into their thrilling worlds, she discovers she can bookwander into any story she chooses. But when her favourite characters, Anne of Green Gables and Alice from Wonderland, appear in the shop, Tilly’s adventures become very real.

Since her mother’s disappearance, eleven-year-old Tilly has found comfort in stories at Pages & Co., her grandparents’ bookshop.

This was a book I absolutely wanted to read from the moment it was announced and I was so thrilled to receive a proof copy for review.

Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James