The Astral Library

Kate Quinn has said that The Astral Library (#1,347) is the book she has always wanted to write, but that her publishers pushed her to write more of her outstanding historical fiction.  Well, I for one, am glad that they did because I've enjoyed those novels so much.  But, with that being said, this is the novel I've been waiting for her to write!

"Have you ever wanted to live inside a book?"  The Astral Library offers that chance to those who are desperate to escape their lives in the real world.  If you are invited in, sanctuary in your favorite book is possible.  There are, of course, some restrictions, as Alix Watson finds out when she tumbles into the Library from the Boston Public Library Reading Room.

A foster child, Alix is barely eking out a dreary existence with three part-time minimum wage jobs when her roommate tells her she is being booted off the couch in their shared apartment. Desperate to find a place where she can safely stay the night a door opens for her in one of her favorite haunts - the Boston Public Library Reading Room.  Just as the Librarian (with a capital L) is about to help Alix into her chosen novel, warnings arrive that the Astral Library is under siege.  Alix is determined that this final sanctuary will not be ripped away from her and the others who have found refuge there, so she clings to the Librarian's elbow as she sets off to save the Library.  It's Alix's very first quest!  And it only gets better from there.  Once the true enemies behind the Library attack are revealed, it's not surprising that the same forces threaten our own libraries in the real world.

This book has everything: a hero to root for, humor, a quest, a believable Foe, and yes, even a dragon!  Not to mention a champion for all our libraries in the real world in Kate Quinn!  

I know several of my friends did not care for this book; they just want more of the same historical fiction (which I would actually like, too!), but honestly, if I rate those books as 5 stars, The Astral Library gets a 10+ from me.  More, please!