Strange
things are happening. A man comes into Pages & Co looking for a book… then
suddenly can’t remember it. Tilly and her family feel like the world is
changing – but can’t quite put their finger on why. Meanwhile, the
Underwoods are expanding their control over bookwandering – and they still have
their sights set on Tilly. Leaving the safety of the bookshop, Tilly heads to
America to find the legendary Archivists and save bookwandering…
… or at
least, that’s the plan. Wandering in layers of story, Tilly and her friend
Oskar come up against dangers they could never have expected, team up with an
unexpectedly familiar face, and ultimately find themselves taking on the
biggest threat to stories there has ever been – with only their courage and
ingenuity to help them. As well as some of their dearest fictional friends…
I
was in a bit of a book slump until I picked up the latest Pages & Co
instalment and it instantly reminded me just why I love reading and all things
books. Tilly and the Map of Stories is the third in the series
of bookwandering adventures (an amazing imaginative power that allows Tilly and
her best friend Oskar to actually go inside their favourite novels and wander
amongst their characters) and it certainly has the same excitement and magic
that the previous two books offered.
In Tilly
and the Map of Stories book wandering goes global, as Tilly, afraid of
the power that the evil Underwoods are displaying as they try to clamp down on
bookwandering, flies off to America on a secret mission to find the mysterious
Archivists who she hopes will be able to help her. Although they've flown off
without her grandparent's permission, the pair are soon met by the friendly
faces of American bookshop owners, Jorge and Orlando, who immediately throw the
pair into a frenzy of action, fear-filled chases and of course,
bookwandering!
As
the third in the series and the last of this particular story arc, there was
always the worry in the back of my mind that it would never live up to the
excitement that the previous two offered, but Anna James proves that there is
still so much more of the bookwandering universe to explore and Tilly
and the Map of Stories truly is filled with action throughout. My
favourite addition had to be the Sesquipedalian - a magical book-filled train
that even includes a restaurant serving the finest of literature's food, from
the Famous Five's delicious picnics to Turkish delight straight from the pages
of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. It is this level of commitment to
well-loved books that really sets this series apart for me. Anna James proves
in every page just how much she loves books, with her constant references to
characters throughout famous literature - and of course there is an extremely
comical appearance from a VERY famous writer in this book, which I won't spoil
but it brought me great joy as I know it will do for so many other readers.
Anna James effortlessly weaves the world of literature into our own familiar surroundings, and just like the first and second book she takes the reader on an incredible journey that so many literature loves would love to come to fruition. I can't wait to see what the Pages & Co universe has in store next!
A literature-filled jaunt through familiar landscapes as Tilly and Oskar defend the book universe once more!
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