The Grimm Legacy (2010) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 5 stars

“This book is amazing, it's way better than I thought it would be! A girl named Elizabeth has become a page at the repository. The repository lends out anything and everything, including items from the Grimm collection. I would have loved to work there and be able to borrow items from the Grimm collection. I hope Polly Shulman writes a second books to this.”

• Rated 4 stars

“I thought that this book was really good! It had some surprising twists and turns that I think that every good reader wants to have in a book. I would reccomend this book to people who like mystery and A little bit of drama.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Elizabeth is lonely. No friends at school, and neglected at home (except for when her stepmother needs someone to do the dishes), Elizabeth quietly goes through life one step at a time. Then her favorite teacher, Mr. Mauskopf, helps her get a job as a page at the New-York Circulating Material Repository, an incredible facility that, like a library, lends out materials to its patrons. This repository has everything from buttons and spoons to Ming Dynasty vases and one of Marie Antoinette's wigs. It also houses something her co-workers won't explain at first--the Grimm Collection. As Elizabeth makes friends and learns more about the Repository, she discovers that someone has been stealing valuable items. And when one of her friends is suspected, she and the other pages have to work together to discover who's really behind the thefts.

I thought that this book was cute and fun, but it could have been a bit more clever. ”

• Rated 3 stars

“Loved the story idea, the characters, the setting, the action, and that it was fairy tales. But the writing or something was off and I had to tell myself to keep reading. I really wanted to love it b/c it's such a cool idea but....”

• Rated 4 stars

“Really good story and an easy read. I loved the references to items from all of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales.”

• Rated 5 stars

“LOVED it. I really loved Elizabeth's job at the Repository...especially being close to the Grimm collection and the awesome Gardens. Her new friends, especially Aaron and Jaya, were all great characters. Such a good read. Magical, really! ”

• Rated 3 stars

“I loved the idea behind this story and I liked much of the story. However, I found the writing bland, the dialogue awkward, and I didn't really know any of the characters. I thought this book could have been so much more and had a great deal of potential. With better writing, I thought the book could lead to a whole series. ”

• Rated 3 stars

“Fun but flawed. I would definitely read another book by this author but would not recommend this one. She did a great job creating an interesting setting and cast of characters but the climax and arch villian are sketchy and lack teeth.”

• Rated 5 stars

“What can I say...It's a mystery, it's an adventure, it's romance, it's magical. It's an adventure in a library (I wish that I worked there!) ! The book was very good, and I would suggest it to all of my fantasy folks.
In fact, this is one of those books that encourages me to read up on the fairy tales. Yes, I'm older now, and I might enjoy reading the Grimm tales. I hear they can be very scary.”

• Rated 4 stars

“The Grimm Legacy brimmed with magic. I love the premise; I so want to work at that library! The magical objects are hilarious to read about and Elizabeth is exceedingly likable. While many of the side characters lack depth, they were not totally static either. The focus of the book is more on Elizabeth's feelings about herself and development as a person that it is on the dastardly plot of a villain to steal the priceless items from the Grimm Collection. The whole mystery plot line is a bit absurd, with the bad guys never seeming any real threat and not being particularly hard to discern either. That said, do not read this out of a love for mystery.

This is a book for book lovers; Shulman's love of books and libraries exudes from every page. She compares Elizabeth to an ordinary fairy tale heroine throughout the story and makes some clever observations. It is always nice to find more teen books where the heroine does not have to be incredibly beautiful or a princess or an incredibly beautiful princess. Elizabeth is smart and, while certainly no troll, not particularly pretty. Her romance, too, follows a more believable pattern than I see in much teen literature.

This is a fun, fast-paced, magical read, well worth your time! ”