Pages and Co: The Book Smugglers by Anna James

Summary from Goodreads:

Fourth in the modern-classic and bestselling bookwandering series for ages eight to twelve that celebrates all that is best in life: books, adventure, friendship – and cake.

Milo lives on board the Sesquipedalian, or “Quip” – a magical train that uses the power of imagination to travel through both Story and the real world. The train is owned by Milo’s uncle, Horatio, and Milo has witnessed many of his uncle’s dodgy dealings as a book smuggler trading in rare books.

When Horatio takes on a dangerous new job, he needs the help of Tilly Pages. And Tilly owes Horatio a favour. But when poisoned copies of The Wizard of Oz are sent to Horatio and Tilly's grandfather, sending them both into deep sleeps, Milo and Tilly find themselves racing against time to save them – and to figure out what is going on.

Their journey takes them to the Emerald City with Dorothy, rocketing on the unruly Quip, and eventually to Venice in Italy, in pursuit of the mysterious Alchemist. The very essence of imagination, story itself, may be in danger . . .

Review:

I love this series. I’ll always remember getting the first two installments in Paris, on my honeymoon. And whenever more books come out, they never cease to bring a smile to my face. Honestly though, how can a librarian not smile? They are always full of literary references, literal “book magic,” charming bookstores, magical libraries, imagination trains, special archives, and a mystery or two.

I liked that this installment involved both a point of view shift (a chunk of the story is about Milo), and a rescue mission (both Horatio and Tilly’s grandfather are in comas from being poisoned after touching a certain copy of The Wizard of Oz). The new characters are amazing. I loved getting to know Milo more. Seeing his favorite books and places to book wander was just the best.There’s this moment where he and Tilly need help from their favorite fictional characters. So, his favorite characters meet Tilly’s, and it’s this literary mismatch of fun.

I also love the idea behind the villain in this story and what he’s trying to accomplish. Of course someone would want to control what he’s trying to do! Watching Tilly sort of become the sidekick to Milo was interesting too. She’s normally the one in charge. But, she clearly knows she’s not the one in charge of the train.

I guess the one flaw in this one, is it felt a little rushed at the end. I wish the last quarter of the book had the same amount of attention to detail the first 3/4 of the book did. Like I literally had to re-read some parts with the archivist to understand what actually transpired. That, and I’m not sure I believed how little attention was paid to some of the kids at the end. But, all in all, I loved it. I still give it an 8/10.