Name: Melissa Palmer's review of Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers by Anna James
Item: Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers
Rating: 5
Author: Melissa Palmer

Anna James

An enchanting story about the magic of books and the power of imagination from debut author Anna James. Perfect for fans of Inkheart, The Land of Stories, and Story Thieves! Since her mother's disappearance, eleven-year-old Tilly Pages has found comfort in the stories at Pages & Co., her grandparents' bookshop. But when her favorite characters, Anne of Green Gables and Alice from Wonderland, start showing up at the shop, Tilly's adventures become very real. Not only can she follow Anne and Alice into their books, she discovers she can bookwander into any story she chooses. Tilly's new ability leads her to fun and exciting adventures, but danger may be lurking on the very next page... When new secrets are uncovered, it's up to Tilly to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago. From debut author Anna James comes a charming and exciting adventure about a bookish young heroine, a mysterious librarian, and a magical bookshop that will delight book lovers everywhere. Praise for Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers -"A thrilling, inventive, book-lover's delight."--Matt Haig, author of A Boy Called Christmas -"Delightful! A Joy of a book."--Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink & Stars

Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers

Antonia Karolina Hak-Kovacs

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.

Pages and Co

Melissa Palmer

A fun series for book lovers. Tilly's grandparents own a book store and Tilly finds herself unexpectedly being able to fall into her favorite books. I recommend it for middle school and up.

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

Pages and Co. : Tilly and the Bookwanderers (Pages and Co. , Book 1)

Nessa Luna

This book was so wholesome and cozy I loved it so much! This is basically a love letter to books and reading. Will definitely pick up the sequel very soon!

Izza

Emelie

Celeste Richardson

You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. 

“Be brave, be curious, be kind.”
I have the most wonderful friends. And those I talk to the most, I’ve never even met in person. There’s a group of us (most of whom now write for the blog we built together, Novel Notions) who talk almost every single day. For the past three years, we’ve sent each other birthday presents and Secret Santa gifts for Christmas. Almost always books, of course. We’ve been there for each other through both extreme hardship and profound joy. Even though I can’t give them a physical shoulder to cry on because of the distance, I know they’re always there for me, and I’m certain they feel the same about me. We love each other, and we share a common passion, the combination of which spawned our wonderful blog. Book friends are the best friends.
“I love thinking about other people reading the books I love, or why someone gave that book as a present - those names and messages are like tiny moments of time travel linking readers from different eras and families and even countries.”
What does that have to do with this book, you might ask? The answer is twofold. First, my book twin (and member of the aforementioned group) saw this book and thought of me, and decided to send it to me as a surprise. She was absolutely spot on, and I loved every page. Second, this is a book about the power of relationships, even those you develop with fictional characters. Can you imagine walking into your favorite room to find your favorite literary character waiting for you in the flesh instead of between the pages of their book? That’s exactly what happens to Matilda Pages, Tilly for short, in the combination home and bookshop where she lives with her grandparents. From there, Tilly embarks on marvelous adventures both inside and outside the pages of books.
“Books can change minds and change worlds, open doors and open minds, and plant seeds that can grow into magical or even terrifying things. Stories are things to be loved and respected at the same time; never underestimate the power of them. It’s why books are often casualties of censorship; those who ban or burn books are those who are scared of what can be found in their pages.”
The thought of bookwandering, as it’s termed in this book, is one that I’m sure has been a daydream of tens of thousands of readers since the creation of the written word. Imagine being able to walk within the pages of your favorite stories, or get to know your favorite characters. It’s a captivating concept, one that has been explored more frequently of late across genres from middle grade to YA to adult fantasy. I enjoyed learning about the rules of bookwandering in this little novel almost as much as I enjoyed seeing how Tilly thwarted those rules, often accidentally. Something that made this book even more special for me is that Tilly and I share a favorite fictional character: Anne of Green Gables. Anne is precocious and imaginative and kind, and I would love to be friends with her, even as an adult. Tilly’s other favorite character, Alice from Wonderland, in not among my favorites, but her addition made the story more interesting. Tilly also makes a friend in reality over the course of the story, in the form of Oskar, and has a beautiful relationship with her grandparents, who are also bookwanderers. 
“The books we love when we’re growing up shape us in a special way… The characters in the books we read help up decide who we want to be.”
I don’t want to get into any of the plot details of this story, as I think that would diminish its charm. I will say, however, that you should absolutely gift this to any middle grader in your life who is obsessed with books, or even an adult reader like myself who has never really grown up and is completely infatuated by the written word. Besides being a fun story in its own right, this novel is made even more lovely by being a book about books. Books about books are one of my favorite things in the world, and have a cozy charm rarely found in their less bookish literary counterparts. I would like to thank TS again for giving me such a wonderful and unexpected gift. It’s something I’ll treasure!
“Our stories are how we will be remembered - so we’ve got to make sure they are worth telling.”

A magical adventure to delight the imagination. The curl-up-on-the-sofa snuggle of a series from a uniquely talented author.

Pages and Co. : Tilly and the Lost Fairy Tales (Pages and Co. , Book 2)

Cute. Sweet. A fun romp through the world of fairy tales. I do, however, think this book veers more toward being a children’s book than middle grade. For instance, the Percy Jackson books are in a completely different league, with much more complex themes and deeper character development, even in the first book. The Pages & Co. novels are breezier, more about tipping the hat to classic children’s tales while at the same time turning said stories on their heads. I love how this book in particular addresses gender roles in fairy tales, and how obnoxious those are. The prose might be simplistic, but that’s part of the beauty of these books. Children as young as six or so could enjoy them as readily as an older child or even an adult like myself. They’d make great read-alouds, but I’ve enjoyed myself immensely simply reading them on my own. However, unlike the first book in the series, Tilly and the Lost Fairy Tales doesn’t have a tidy, self-contained ending, so maybe ensure that you have access to a copy of the next book in the series before reading this particular installment.

Analise Amaral

I really did enjoy this book! It brought out my inner child, as a kid I’ve always wished I could jump into other realities or books in general and this for sure helped me live that childhood dream! The little twists thrown in were pretty good and I recommend this for young readers or even adults/teens who live jumping into their childish side.

Ana V. 

"The books we love when we’re growing up shape us in a special way, Tilly. The characters in the books we read help us decide who we want to be.”
This series is at the top of my favorite in the genre. Matilda can see and talk to her favorite fictional characters. She can also visit the books they belong to. With a little help, she'll learn more about herself, the ones who surround her and solve the mystery of what happened to her parents. 
The author is fabulous in getting famous character's personally perfect through dialogue. We know we're hearing Alice (from Alice in Wonderland) without having to mention her name. A promising adventurous series.

Cerys

Such an adorable yet thoughtful book! Every child (and adult) wonders what it would be like to enter their favourite book, tv show or film. Yet are imagination is much more vivid as a child and I think Tilly was the perfect protagonist to show how imagination coupled with practicality can inspire you yet also hinder you. This is a brilliant book to read to children and to read as an adult to remember how you used to see books and how you still can. Would definitely recommend!

Kirsty

I ADORED this book! It was so much more than I ever expected. I expected it to just be Tilly popping into books and having fun with the characters but it was so much more. I loved everything about this book (and sequel) and it’s easily one of my favourite Middle Grade series now.

A magical adventure to delight the imagination. The curl-up-on-the-sofa snuggle of a series from a uniquely talented author. Tilly Pages is a bookwanderer; she can travel inside books, and even talk to the characters she meets there. But Tilly's powers are put to the test when fairytales start leaking book magic and causing havoc . . . On a wintery visit to Paris, Tilly and her best friend Oskar bravely bookwander into the land of fairytales to find that characters are getting lost, stories are all mixed-up, and mysterious plot holes are opening without warning. Can Tilly work out who, or what, is behind the chaos so everyone gets their happily-ever-after? The second enthralling tale in the bestselling PAGES & CO series.

Pages and Co. : Tilly and the Lost Fairytales

I love this one so much! The amount of twists and turns and the way this story and this world are expanding… I just love it and I cannot wait for the next book! I did really miss Tilly’s family in this one though, so hopefully the next book is packed with them.

Kendra Jones

This story follows Tilly as she discovers that she can interact with her favourite characters not only in the real world, but she can also enter her favourite stories. She is also trying to figure out what happened to her parents after they disappeared around when she was born. Tilly makes a new friend in Oskar, and they travel the books together trying to figure out the mystery of her parents as well as why Enoch Chalk hates book wanderers. 
This story was cute, magical and had a touch of wonder. There was a whole chapter dedicated to info dumping how book wandering works, which kind of killed the magic. However, the characters were sweet, well, most of them, and the plot was decent. 
Another thing I didn't like was that the bad guy was obvious from the very start, as soon as that character was introduced I knew he would be evil. Not only that, I was trying to come up with reasons why other characters would be better villains and what a shock it would be if the actual villain of the story was someone else.
The writing was decent and fun. Still deciding on whether I will be reading on in the series.

Judy McClure

A captivating, curl-up-on-the-sofa debut about the magic of books and the power of the imagination.

Pages & Co.: Tilly and the Bookwanderers (Pages & Co., Book 1)

Leyla Kooi

Absolutely simply terrific. If you love books, bookshops and bibliothecaries. And you love spending time in these places? Then you will simply adore this book.

I read the Dutch version and that was brilliant. So I simply can't wait to read the Original version.

Nickie Mohler

This was such a fun read! A book about a book shop and wandering in books? I'm in! 
I'm definitely adding this to my list of favorite middle grade books. I am going to order the next one right now.

Addiction to books (Cece) 

i loved this books so much. it just felt like an big hug filled with love for books can't wait to read the second book

Renee Delcourt

I have some very conflicted feelings about this book. This was a book that everyone has talked about so much and built up so much that I thought it was going to be drop dead amazing. And I thought it was alright but kind of let me down. There was soooo much info dumping all the time. The plot line was pretty dang predictable. I enjoyed the concept but there was a great deal of things that weren't fully developed. I loved all the book references and really enjoyed the Underlibrary. Over all I am just underwhelmed. It was alright and maybe someone else will read it and not feel the same as me.

Mousumee

Absolutely marvelous! Can't wait to read the rest of the series. ❤️🌠

Marija M

I really loved the second instalment in Pages & Co. trilogy. It was funny and magical. I laughed out loud quite a few times. The way the fairy tales were reimagined was amazing! I can't wait to get my hands on the third one in this trilogy. Also, this would be a perfect Christmas read!

This book is one of the easiest 5 stars for me!! It's like a hug but in a book form. Loved every second of it and can't wait to read the second one in the series.

Lucy

3.5 A very enjoyable read. I loved Oskar the best. He’s so witty and cute. I want him to be my best friend. I really enjoyed bea and Tilly’s dynamic as it didn’t magically fix everything but still had some lovely raw moments together. I did have a few problems with the writing as felt the author was telling us more things than showing us. It didn’t hinder the story too much as it is a middle grade but it definitely wasn’t as strong a read as the first book.

Wiktoria Balcerak

just what I needed today. this book feels like a warm hug and I'm a sucker for books about books so I loved it!

The third magical bookwandering adventure in the nationally bestselling Pages & Co. series, featuring Tilly Pages as she journeys to Washington, DC, to wander inside the books at the Library of Congress. Perfect for fans of Inkheart and The Land of Stories. Tilly and Oskar embark on an impromptu trip to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, in search of an elusive group of bookwanderers called the Archivists, who they believe are the key to restoring the balance and saving the British Underlibrary. Along the way, the friends realize that something strange is happening in the world of bookwandering: books are disappearing, people are forgetting their favorite stories, and stories are trying to drag Tilly into them. With a mysterious set of clues and some surprising new faces, Tilly and Oskar will need the help of some of their dearest fictional friends to be able to solve the mystery . . . and save bookwandering forever. Praise for Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers: A USA Today Bestseller! A Barnes & Noble Book of the Month! A Fall 2019 Kids' Indie Next List Pick! "Mr. Lemoncello would love to go bookwandering at Pages and Co. If you love books, you're going to LOVE this book!"--Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Mr. Lemoncello series *"Highly recommended for readers young and old. An important reminder of the centrality of stories in shaping our lives." --School Library Journal, starred review "A loving testament to the powerful magic of books and imagination." --Kirkus Reviews "An affectionate ode to books and book lovers." --Publishers Weekly "Delightful! A Joy of a book."--Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink & Stars "A thrilling, inventive, book-lover's delight."--Matt Haig, author of A Boy Called Christmas

Pages and Co. : the Map of Stories

Amy Shurtleff

4.5. Wonderful message of what stories and reading really mean.

Antonia Karolina Hak-Kovacs &
Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers by Anna James

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Antonia Karolina Hak-Kovacs &
Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers by Anna James