portal fantasy

The Astral Library

/ Book Girl / Leave a comment

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn

Known for her historical fiction including The Rose Code, the author now turns to magical realism. This novel has been highly publicized, and Quinn has the storytelling chops to lure a reader into The Astral Library and make them not want to leave.

This is definitely not a cozy fantasy, but compelling settings, a fast-paced and twisty plot, and memorable characters make this a book to cheer for. Alix Watson is desperate, and her past as a foster child and her present as a twenty-something working three part-time jobs are both rather bleak. Where Alix feels most at home is in the library, re-reading a favorite book.

Then she gets invited into a very special library, where she can finally say yes to the question: “Have you ever wanted to live inside a book?” Only the Astral Library and its Patrons are threatened, and it’s up to the Librarian, Alix, and struggling costume designer Beau to save the day, along with the Library itself.

While the opening is reminiscent of early 20th century novels by Grace Livingston Hill in which a young, poor heroine does a good deed and then gets a good job and meets a gentleman, Alix is not exactly sweet and kind, and swears rather a lot. Once Alix enters the Library, I was reminded of the Thursday Next novels by Jasper Fforde, beginning with The Eyre Affair, set in Book World, and also of humorous fantasy novels by Terry Pratchett set in the Unseen University’s library, with a librarian turned orangutan.

Daughter of a librarian, Quinn has created a magical library for book lovers and library fans to dream about. More, please!

Brenda

The Lost Story

/ Book Girl / Leave a comment

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

This portal fantasy novel was inspired by C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, but Shanandoah does not feel like Narnia to me. Shanandoah is a magical land that can only be reached through the Red Crow Forest in West Virginia.

Emilie is grieving for her adoptive mother then learns that she has a half-sister, Shannon, who went missing in the Red Crow Forest many years ago. Two teen boys, Jeremy and Rafe, also went missing in the forest but were found several months later. Both adults now, Rafe has no memories of these months while Jeremy searches for missing women and children.

Emilie, Jeremy, and Rafe go into the forest, and predictably, end up in Shanandoah. While delightfully magical, it’s also filled with grave dangers. Rafe learns that he put his memories into a book before leaving Shanandoah, and doesn’t remember that he and Jeremy were in love. Emilie has always found music magical. She talks a lot, especially when she’s nervous, and has a pet rat named Fritz (which I thought was sweet, as I had a pet rat named Rosemary when I was a girl). They find Emilie’s sister, who’s welcoming to everyone, even Fritz.

Shanandoah is not very much like West Virginia, and Emilie never wants to leave. But Rafe’s Mom will miss him if he stays. In this resemblance to Narnia, Rafe and Jeremy learn that if they leave, they can never return to Shanandoah, or at least not unless the storyteller (and narrator) can write them back in a sequel. An engaging and compelling read, but not a cozy fantasy. I also enjoyed the author’s earlier novel, The Wishing Game.

Brenda