Pages & Co.: Tilly and the Bookwanderers: Book 1

Product Information

A magical adventure to delight the imagination. A curl-up-on-the-sofa debut from a uniquely talented author.

Tilly and the Bookwanderers Quotes by Anna James - Goodreads Tilly and the Bookwanderers Quotes by Anna James - Goodreads

I will say that I feel like the end got away a little bit - which is why I'm giving it 4 stars rather than 5. It felt a smidge info-dumpy in the last couple chapters, and some characters came to conclusions without much warning or explanation. But, I don't want that to deter you from reading. It was overall excellent and I loved it! representation: dyslexia, being a child of a non-nuclear family, characters of colour (described as having brown skin.) What a charming story! Not only was it incredibly clean, but there was such a winsome style of writing with the “book magic”. Something similar to a fairytale, but with no spells or curses. I definitely plan on continuing the series and getting my own copy of this book. It was really quite charming and unique—I would think those that do a happy sigh when you walk into a bookstore would enjoy this book as well. It felt like all my daydreams (and fever dreams - the Wonderland bits are TRIPPY) had come true; it read like the best fanfiction of children’s classics E V E R 😍😂 every book lover’s dream. Through learning about bookwandering and her Grandparents experiences with it, will Tilly be able to find out what truly happened to her mother all those years ago ?It is said that Tilly's mother left when she was a baby; A few mentions of divorces & parents not being married when they had a child (Anne is scandalized by this information); A mention of witchcraft/sorcery (by a book character); A couple mentions of wine. Tilly's character is a mixture of her two greatest literary loves - Anne from Anne of Green Gables and Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She has the sweetest soul with the most adventurous spirit, and the combination of the two had me eager to venture with her anywhere!

Books — Anna James

I love middle-grade fantasies and when a book is set in a bookshop or a library, it's even better. When I read the blurb about this, I knew that I had to read it but I was not very impressed with this. It's an unpopular opinion and here it goes. As Tilly, Oskar, Alessia and Milo venture into Arthurian legend to find the first bookwanderer – the wizard Merlin – they discover that everything they thought they knew about bookwandering might be wrong. Are the things in your imagination less real than the things in front of you? Is this rose more real than you? Do the books you've read mean less to you because they haven't really happened to you? Do daydreams at midday or nightdreams at midnight mean nothing?” A sweet book about reading and loving stories. Bookwandering is a cool meta kind of magic and seems like a promising thing to base a series on. Meanwhile, the Underwoods are expanding their control over bookwandering – and they still have their sights set on Tilly. Leaving the safety of the bookshop, Tilly heads to America to find the legendary Archivists and save bookwandering…Another thing I loved about this book was the setting - a lot of it takes place in a cozy, family owned bookstore. I mean you can imagine it so easy and it makes it that much easier to really get into the story and put yourself in Tilly's space. The ending of this one does leave a lot of unanswered questions and a cliffhanger, but thankfully another book is coming to hopefully shed some light on all of that. I have the most wonderful friends. And those I talk to the most, I’ve never even met in person. There’s a group of us (most of whom now write for the blog we built together, Novel Notions) who talk almost every single day. For the past three years, we’ve sent each other birthday presents and Secret Santa gifts for Christmas. Almost always books, of course. We’ve been there for each other through both extreme hardship and profound joy. Even though I can’t give them a physical shoulder to cry on because of the distance, I know they’re always there for me, and I’m certain they feel the same about me. We love each other, and we share a common passion, the combination of which spawned our wonderful blog. Book friends are the best friends. Books can change minds and change worlds, open doors and open minds, and plant seeds that can grow into magical or even terrifying things. Stories are things to be loved and respected at the same time; never underestimate the power of them.” Thanks so much to Goodreads friend (artist) Laura for telling me more than once about this book and for all her book suggestions to try to help me get out of my latest reading slump. I think a bookshop is like a map of the world. There are infinite paths you can take through it and none of them are right or wrong. Here in a bookshop we give readers landmarks to help them find their way, but every reader has to learn to set their own compass.”

BOOKWANDERERS | Kirkus Reviews THE BOOKWANDERERS | Kirkus Reviews

It’s wonderfully imaginative and the first of a series I plan to continue. There are so many interesting things to explore in this world that I’m sure the series will be great!And the audio narration by Aysha Kala was wonderful. I will be looking to see what other books she’s narrated. This book heavily relies on Anne from Anne of Green Gables and Alice from Alice in Wonderland and A Little Princess. I haven't read Anne of Green Gables or A Little Princess but I have read Alice in Wonderland and didn't much like it especially Alice's character in the book and this was no exception here. I can't much say about Anne or Sara but I found Alice's character to be very annoying. This was another reason that I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I had wanted to. There was also not a lot of action in this. There was not much time spent on Oskar either. Friends should bring out the best in you, not be the same as you. I’m sure you’re someone’s perfect fit.” This is basically a book about me...sort of...not really. BUT the main character is called Tilly and she loves books!!! I am absolutely enamoured with every single thing about this book. I don't think I've had such a connection with a children's story as an adult before and I have definitely found a new favourite here.

Tilly and the Bookwanderers - Goodreads

I think it would make for a perfect activity to read this book with fourth and fifth graders and then assign them to write stories putting themselves into their favorite book or another book of their choice. I would have loved doing that at that age. It is fun to think about now too.Sixteen modern fiction superstars shine a startling light on the romance and pain of the infamous literary pair Heathcliff and Cathy. Milo Bolt is ready to be the hero of his own story. With Uncle Horatio trapped in an enchanted sleep by the power-hungry Alchemist, he sets off with his new friend Alessia to find a cure. She tells this to a boy from school, Oskar who doesn't believe at first but when he's also whisked into the book with Tilly comes to believe everything. They both finally confront Tilly's grandparents and the grandparents explain that it is called bookwandering. They also tell her that bookwandering without actually reading the book at the time is a thing unheard of as in Tilly's case and then they explain that Tilly is half-fictional so may be that's the reason Tilly is able to bookwander without physically reading the book. Tilly finds out that her father is none other than the book character from A Little Princess so Sara from A Little Princess is Tilly's half sister. Trigger warnings for parental abandonment discussed, serious illness of a grandmother mentioned, death of a father discussed, the disappearance of a parent & daughter, and bullying.