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The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead & Wendy Mass I picked up The Lost Library on a trip to Barnes & Noble (a large bookstore in my area) and thought, That looks like a cute read. I figured I would read it and then donate it because I didn’t think I would find it all that compelling. Boy, was I wrong! This is another book whose whole second half I read in one sitting because it was so good. The Lost Library is a children’s mystery novel. It takes place in the small town of Martinville and tells its story through the perspectives of three characters: Mortimer, the orange six-toed cat who lives at the library; Al, the librarian’s assistant; and Evan, one of the local fifth-graders. Martinville once had a local library, but something happened years ago and changed that. Al finally takes what few books remain from the old library and constructs a small wooden mobile library to give them a proper home; Mortimer begins guarding this new little library; Evan takes a book from this library and discovers a curious name stamped onto the circulation card. This begins the investigation into what exactly happened to the Martinville Library and why the adults in town won’t talk about it. The book can, more or less, be read in segments of Mortimer – Al – Evan, Mortimer – Al – Evan. Each time the perspective changes, the reader learns one more little piece to the puzzle of what happened to the Martinville Library. Much like romances, I can really enjoy stories told through multiple perspectives; it's just that they are not often done well. The Lost Library is an example of how this can be done well. Every character in this book feels like an individual, with small details that make them interesting and fun. Character interactions are realistic and meaningful, always contributing – even in a small way – to the advancement of the plot. Notes and letters found in the story are shown in a font that indicates the character-writer’s handwriting, which is always a positive in my world. The writing in this book gave me a similar feeling to reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Both are children’s mystery stories, of course; but it was the small, quirky details and the intentional, matter-of-fact storytelling that gave me that feeling. This was a positive for me because it did not feel like a cheap knock-off of Rowling’s style but rather a very different children’s mystery story written with a similar skillful style. The Lost Library is a lovely, personable, wonderfully written, and easy read. I enjoyed every word of it, and it will be staying on my bookshelf.  Aside from elementary- and middle-school-aged children, I would say that anybody who enjoys a wholesome mystery with entertaining characters and/or a beautifully-unfolding plotline will find this book worth the read. |
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