Tilly and the Bookwanderers (Pages & Co. #1) –Review

A magical adventure to delight the imagination. A curl-up-on-the-sofa debut from a uniquely talented author.

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.

-Goodreads Synopsis

Author: Anna James

My Rating: 4.5/5

My Favourite Quote: “Be brave, be curious, be kind.”

This book is such a delightful, beautifully illustrated book! It’s a middle grade book and I think kids who like reading and magic will really enjoy it, and as an adult who also loves those two things I also thought it was a lovely reading experience!

This book is a book about books, which is always something I always enjoy and to add to that it had a really fun magical twist! This book creates such a cozy atmosphere as it is mostly set in the main character Tilly’s Grandparent’s bookshop and with a good amount of adventure within the books and a mysterious library. I mean this is a book where a girl gets to meet her favourite book characters and see into their world, it’s so fun.

The book is also sprinkled with adorable illustrations as well as quite a few instances where the print of the story wiggles or falls off the page. It’s a really fun effect and fits very well with the content of the book! Also I have to say I love both the cover of this book and the dust jacket design, it looks so bookish and fun it’s great just to stare at.

I think this would be a wonderful book for kids who feel a bit more comfortable with books and fictional characters than with real people, as this is something that Tilly deals with and I think it’s quite well done. Even as an adult I really felt for Tilly and it reminded me of some of the struggles of being young and oh so awkward.

I think this book would be a really lovely gift for any book lover in your life and would be a good summer read for anyone who wants some magical meta book reading in their life!

If you have read this book I’d love to hear your opinions! Also, as I don’t often read middle grade books I’d love to hear about any magical series or stand alone books for younger people!