I have now read three books out of four in the Forbidden Library series, just really quickly compared to my usual pace. This is directly because the boy is just about obsessed with them. When I finished the third book a couple of nights ago, he asked me to immediately start book four, even though I have several books from the library he wanted to read and also a lot of new books in his very favorite series, Press Start[1], chronicling the video game adventures of Super Rabbit Boy, who he dressed as on “bring your favorite book character to school” day.

All of that to say, these are popular in the household. Also legit good; thanks to whoever recommended Django Wexler as an author. I should read one of his adult books sometime!

In The Palace of Glass, our heroine Alice makes plans to support her reactions to the information she gained in book two. …okay, yes, I’m trying to avoid spoilers, but that’s too damn vague. Let me try again.

As I was saying, Alice makes plans to take her revenge on the party or parties that were revealed in the second book as responsible for the death[2] of her father, back at the beginning of book one. But along the way to executing those plans, she gains an inkling of the cost that may accrue if she does. And, as it happens, the inkling she gains is not a fraction of the true cost that might exist. It’s a middle grade book, so I’m not surprised Wexler didn’t dig out the old chestnut about digging two graves, but if he had, he could quickly have turned it around to “or a thousand, and that’s only if you’re lucky.”

The only real kidbook sin the series commits is making Alice maybe a little overpowered. But honestly, I think he does a decent job of earning it? That said, what she’s been relying on so far shouldn’t help nearly as much in the final book. I look forward to learning how things land. Only, not for a few weeks yet. Maybe a couple months?

[1] Too short/young to bother reviewing, but they’re decent. Graphic novels, basically, which in addition to telling game stories have underlying lessons about sharing, family harmony, perseverance, that kind of thing. Good way to push life lessons, if you ask me. There’s a TV series on Peacock, which I should investigate sometime.
[2] Apparent death? Call me a softie, but I’m still not convinced that’s truly what happened. It remains to be seen!

Learning that you can just search for stock at Half Price Books on the internet takes away pretty much all of the fun treasure hunting aspect of shopping at the bookstore, but at times like these when you don’t really want to just wait and see how long it will take to find a book and in the meantime your kid just completely forgets what happened last time, there is definitely something to be said for the gains in efficiency.

Which is to say, I’ve read the second book in Django Wexler’s Forbidden Library series, The Mad Apprentice. And yes, okay, it’s a middle grade book about an orphan who discovers she is heir to a magical world but also maybe there’s a guy she wants to kiss even if the physical act of kissing has not crossed her mind as a literal fact yet, even after two full books. But also, I really kind of love the concept.

1. All books have some capacity for magic, even if it’s just one perfect turn of phrase
2. Some books are a lot more magical than that, and open portals between locations on earth or to distant real or imagined worlds
3. Some books imprison creatures, and defeating the creatures within the book (or getting them to agree to serve you) gives you their powers, in a variety of possible ways
4. The people who have this power, Readers, are kind of the bad guys if you think about it much at all

Alice, the orphan I mentioned, has learned quite a bit about how to be a Reader, so now she’s ready to be thrust into their world due to an unexpected violent circumstance: the death of one of the Master Readers[1], and at the hands of his apprentice no less. Apparently, the other apprentices, in these circumstances[2], gather together and capture the offending apprentice and either deal with him themselves, or else bring him back for the justice of their masters. Which is how Alice finds herself in a group of four other apprentices as well as her friend(?) Isaac, hunting through a labyrinth that is slowly losing its magical power to a) perform whatever justice they decide but also to b) make sure none of the other apprentices loot any powerful book artifacts along the way. Because being able to trust the other people in your posse is way too much to ask, of course.

But also, shouldn’t the labyrinth be a lot more bereft of power and a lot less dangerous than this, without anyone to maintain it?

See what I mean? Good stuff.

[1] She is an apprentice, and the apprentices call them the Old Readers, since among other things they’re basically immortal, and it makes you wonder why have an apprentice system if you don’t really intend to pass on your power at some point, but why ruin a great premise by poking perfect logic at it? But my point was, I think Master Reader fits better.
[2] The fact that it happens often enough for there to be an accepted process is another reason to wonder why have an apprentice at all, but I said I wasn’t doing that.