Review: The Night Librarian

By Christopher Lincoln

New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2024. Comics. 247 pages.

Fraternal twins Page and Turner Read have grown accustomed to feeling neglected by their parents lately. Their parents are often busy with meetings and work trips and leave the twins behind with a revolving door of nannies -- who are also often neglectful. So, Page and Turner spend a lot of time at their favorite place -- the New York Public Library. On a whim, Page, the more reckless twin, steals her father's prized first-edition copy of Dracula and takes it to the library hoping to have it appraised, much to the chagrin of her more careful brother, Turner. In a disastrous twist, the book goes missing before they get the information they need. In soliciting help from Ms. Literati, the Night Librarian, they have no idea that they'll be whisked to a secret room far under the stacks where the night librarians tend to the characters that like to pop out of books and try to prevent a "catastrophic KABLOOEY." With the help of cast of familiar characters, Page and Turner are fighting against time to return all the literary baddies to their correct books and save the day.

This bookish graphic novel is a delightful read for the bookworms in your life. Zany, madcap, and action-packed, this adventure is a quick and unputdownable read. For readers who are familiar with the "classics," appearances from Jim Hawkins, Alice, and Tinker Bell will be gratifying, but even modern classics get a nod. This book is so charming and creative.

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