Now that Oliver Wormwood is 13, he must choose a calling. All of his sisters have left home and become a blacksmith, a ranger, a lawkeeper
and more, but Oliver didn’t have a clue what he wanted to be. All he really wants is to make his parents proud.
But he is terrible at everything he tries. Just as he thought he’d have to wait another whole year, an old man turns up just as everyone else is leaving.
The very next morning, Oliver begins his apprenticeship as an Assistant Librarian at the Blackmoor-upon-Wyvern Public Library. His gift of languages and love of reading helped seal the deal, but by the end of the day, he is suddenly in charge of the library.
Feeling overwhelmed with the huge responsibility, he’s pleased to have the help of a girl named Agatha. She seems to know the library inside and out, and is happy to assist him as an assistant’s assistant.
He also meets several cats who seem to be part of the library too – naming them by how they look. He’s not quite so sure about the other creatures at night, or the fact that the books themselves have lives of their own.
Oliver learns an important rule of this library very quickly – Read the title of the book before you pick it up. Some of these books will not only bite you, but things will jump out of them!
With responsibility heavy on his shoulders, more is heaped upon him when not one, but two murders occur on his watch. While he learns the power of books in the world, he tries to understand who is the murderer and why?
This investigation might just help him achieve his dreams and answer the many questions he has since first becoming The 113th Assistant Librarian.
If you love mystery, books, and surprises, you will enjoy The 113th Assistant Librarian. From the very first pages, I liked the man character, Oliver Wormwood. Being the youngest of all his siblings, he’s already in a tricky position, trying to live up to his father’s high expectations.
Becoming an assistant to a crotchety librarian captured my interest even further, then an unexpected event had me hooked and thinking, What is Oliver going to do now?
Most of the story is set in a library strewn with magic. The books are far from normal, the cats are plentiful and mysterious and the added tension of multiple deaths or murders kept me reading.
I loved the surprises along the way, and the imaginative ways this library operates.
A fun read.
Author – Stuart Wilson
Age – 8+
(2024, Penguin Books, Action, Animals, Family, Fantasy, Friendship, Historical, Magic, Mystery, Library, Bookworms, Bats, Cats, Troll, Tricksters, Apprenticeships, Librarian, Responsibility, Knight, Characters coming to life)