SORCERY OF THORNS by Margaret Rogerson is an enchanting, fantasy adventure about libraries and their magical books, grimoires, which are capable of dangerous things. Elisabeth is an apprentice librarian who grew up in one of the Great Libraries, aspiring to be a warden who fights against sorcery and protects the library and people. When there’s an attack on her library, Elisabeth is accused of the crime, sent away, and finds herself entangled in an ancient conspiracy along with a sorcerer and his servant.

I was hooked starting with the book’s dedication: “For all the girls who found themselves in books.” From there, it didn’t relent. Elisabeth is clever and fierce, and the story is inclusive and feminist with engaging characters. It’s about magical libraries, sorcery, friendship, loyalty, and finding oneself.

Readers who love fairy-tale inspired stories or fantasy adventures filled with magic will enjoy this and clamor for more set in this world.

[Cincinnati friends: upon finishing this book, I read the author’s bio and it states she lives in the Cincinnati area. So exciting to have a another book to recommend and support with local ties.]

Suggested Reading Age: Grades 8+ | Margaret K. McElderry Books / Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s | 456 pg. | June 4, 2019 |

“Books, too, had hearts, though they were not the same as people’s, and a book’s heart could be broken: she had seen it happen before. Grimoires that refused to open, their voices gone silent, or whose ink faded and bled across the pages like tears.”