The Grimm Legacy

 

Title: The Grimm Legacy

Author: Polly Shulman

 Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Publication date: July 8, 2010

Rating: 3 Stars

Elizabeth has a new job at an unusual library— a lending library of objects, not books. In a secret room in the basement lies the Grimm Collection. That's where the librarians lock away powerful items straight out of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales: seven-league boots, a table that produces a feast at the blink of an eye, Snow White's stepmother's sinister mirror that talks in riddles.

When the magical objects start to disappear, Elizabeth embarks on a dangerous quest to catch the thief before she can be accused of the crime—or captured by the thief.
This was a really cute book and I think middle grade children especially will enjoy it. I loved to magic of the repository. Imagine being able to borrow Abraham Lincoln's top hat or Jane Austen's quill or even Cinderella's Glass Slipper. The Grimm Legacy tells about the importance of objects and, for the Grimm objects, the magic they hold.

I loved every scene with the magic mirror. The rhyming was awesome and the mirror was so incredibly creepy, but in a good way. Elizabeth was not always the most interesting character but I liked the way she treated Anjal's sister. She never put her down and always treated her like an equal which was different than Anjal treated her. I found Marc to be boring and Anjali was not much better but Andrew on the other hand was more interesting, although he acted like kind of an idiot near the end.


So, at the beginning of this review I say that the book is cute and so far I have only criticized it but now I'll tell you why I enjoyed it. I loved the idea of the world of magic and fairy tales. I loved that the main character worked in a library of objects of history and magic. I loved being introduced to that world. Was this book fantastic? No, but it was fun, there are technicalities that I could point out but I won't. My mind has gotten too picky, that's why I recommend this for a younger audience. They will be able to look at this book and experience the magic that my mind wouldn't let me fully enjoy.