Review: The Secret Library

By Kekla Magoon

Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2024. 373 pages.

Dally finds a mysterious letter from her grandfather who just passed away. The letter sends her to a library that is full of secrets with books that she can check out and read —if reading was holding a book that is a portal that transports Dally back in time so that she can see the secret play out in real life. Secrets about her past, her family’s past, or secrets from other families. Basically, the Secret Library is a place full of adventure where she must learn and survive each family secret. However, all secrets come with a price, and there is one price that the Secret Library wants Dally to pay that she isn’t sure she wants to pay.

Readers who love all the various types of genres mashed up together will enjoy this particular novel. It has adventure, fantasy, historical fiction, and realistic fiction —just to name a few. A lot is going on, and yet Dally and the various family members that she keeps meeting while traveling through time to see her family’s past secrets are all well-developed and will become friends to those who read about them. Also, I am dying to talk to someone about the ending of this book. So, if you end up reading it, please talk to me! This book left me thinking about it for many days afterward. And any other readers who like to think through what might happen if you play with time, may also be left thinking long after the book has finished.

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