School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Amy Lennox and her mom, Alexis, decide they need a change, so the duo head to the family home in Stormsay, Scotland. There, Amy discovers her family's book-jumping legacy. With the unique ability to jump into stories and interact with them, it is up to the Lennox and Macalister families to protect the stories and their characters. Soon after she starts jumping, however, someone starts stealing the ideas from the books she visits. Determined to save the books, Amy and fellow book jumper Will attempt to solve the mystery. As dark secrets from the past come to light, Amy become the next target. Narrator Mary Sarah superbly utilizes accents and different voices to help listeners distinguish each well-developed, intriguing character. The plot is enchanting, engaging, and vivid in description and alliteration. Gläser's writing style and Sarah's narrative talents together create an enchanting story. VERDICT Fans of fantasy and retold classics will be eager to listen to this novel. This is a must-have for any library collection.-Kira Moody, Salt Lake County Library Services © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Fifteen-year-old Amy Lennox has grown up in Germany, but after a traumatic spring she talks her mother into taking them back to her birthplace, the island of Stormsay off the coast of Scotland. Amy's family and another clan, the Macalisters, are keepers of a secret library of texts that date back centuries, and they can "jump" into stories, interacting with their characters, so long as they stay "in the margins, between the lines." But a thief is also jumping into books and stealing the authors' ideas, ruining the books. Amy and Will Macalister try to solve the mystery before more stories are destroyed. Amy also learns the identity of her father in a less-developed story line. The lore of the two families and German author Gläser's descriptions of Stormsay and the library are meticulous and moody, creating a gothic atmosphere that serves this star-crossed love story well. Meetings with book characters, like Kipling's Shere Khan and Dickens's Oliver Twist, offer entertaining moments that balance the grimmer elements of the story as it builds to a bittersweet ending. Ages 12-up. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
When 15-year-old Amy convinces her mother to take her to their ancestral home on a remote Scottish island, she doesn't understand what that entails. After meeting her formidable grandmother, she learns that young members of her family are book jumpers, magically enabled to enter into any book and then observe and interact with the characters. Introduced to the Secret Library, she begins to explore The Jungle Book and then tries Oliver Twist. Her adventures take a dark turn when fictional objects disappear from their literary worlds, and the body of Sherlock Holmes washes up on shore. While Amy and her allies try to catch the culprit, she wonders whom to trust. A German writer, Gläser populates the island with eccentric characters and creates a centuries-old backstory of two rival families on the island. Amy makes a sympathetic, articulate narrator. Combining fantasy, history, mystery, adventure, and romance, the novel tries to accomplish a great deal in one volume and occasionally falters. Still, the concept is intriguing, particularly for book-lovers, and certain readers will find the story compelling.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2016 Booklist
