The Book Smugglers by Anna James

Title: The Book Smugglers

Author: Anna James

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: HarperCollins Australia

Published: 13^th October 2021

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 432

Price: $19.99

Synopsis: Milo lives on board the Sesquipedalian, or “Quip” – a magical train that uses the power of imagination to travel through both Story and the real world. The train is owned by Milo’s uncle, Horatio, and Milo has witnessed many of his uncle’s dodgy dealings as a book smuggler trading in rare books.

When Horatio takes on a dangerous new job, he needs the help of Tilly Pages. And Tilly owes Horatio a favour. But when poisoned copies of The Wizard of Oz are sent to Horatio and Tilly’s grandfather, sending them both into deep sleeps, Milo and Tilly find themselves racing against time to save them – and to figure out what is going on.

Their journey takes them to the Emerald City with Dorothy, rocketing on the unruly Quip, and eventually to Venice in Italy, in pursuit of the mysterious Alchemist. The very essence of imagination, story itself, may be in danger . . .

~*~

Milo’s life aboard the Quip with his uncle, Horatio, has been very different. Then he met Tilly and her family of book wanderers, and he’s started to question what he does with his uncle since then. But now, he’s found out about some of the dodgy deals that his uncle has made, including a favour and promise he has made to someone known as the Alchemist. Something that he needs Tilly Pages to complete. Yet poisoned copies of the Wizard of Oz put Tilly’s grandfather and Horatio into deep sleeps, and now, it is up to Tilly, Milo, and the Alchemist’s daughter, Alessia, to find out how to cure them and save the Quip. To do so, they must journey to the Emerald City and Venice to save imagination and story.

The fourth Pages and Co book starts to shift away from focusing entirely io Tilly and her family, as it brings more of Milo’s story into being and gives us a dual story – with alternating sections told from Milo’s perspective and Tilly’s perspective as they go on the perilous journey together and get help from old fictional friends along the way. The fourth book in the series continues the stories and mysteries of the first three, but at the same time, is its own story and it begins a whole new chapter in the Pages and Co series, because we get to see a new aspect to this world and what it means to the characters. I’ve been following this series since it started, and it’s one of the less-known ones in Australia, not as hyped but it still has its fan base – I’ve had some fun chats with my local bookseller about it when buying the books as they come out. It’s always a delight for me to walk in each year and find it waiting there on the shelf for me.

What I love about these books is that they are a love story to books and readers, to book shops and all the characters that as readers we have all taken into our lives and hearts since childhood. They’re the ones we know well – Anne of Green Gables, Phyllis, Bobbie, and Peter, and Dorothy Gale. And so many more that populate our worlds, both new and old. As a life-long reader, and one who would love to be able to meet my favourite characters in the flesh (I could have a rollicking good time with Macca the Alpaca), I love Tilly. I love these books, because they fill the world with book magic and possibility of what books and words can give us. I think books like this that celebrate books, and the magic of books are having a very important moment right now and follow in the grand tradition of The Neverending Story, and the Inkheart Trilogy, but each book and series that is celebrating books and the magic of books or bringing books to life does it in so many different ways, that there is always something fabulously unique about each one.

I’ve got all the books that are currently out, and I am very keen to read the next one soon, so keep an eye out for my review for that one. I’m looking forward to seeing where Tilly, Milo, and Alessia go next and how they save the Underlibraries and book magic from the Alchemist. I think book lovers of all ages will adore this series and everyone who reads this will get something special out of it, and that something special will be unique to them – which is all a part of what makes books truly magical.