The Map of Stories (Pages & Co., #3)

by Anna James

"If we just sit here trying to stay safe, they're only going to keep coming back until something awful happens," Tilly said. “It’s not enough to hide at home—we have to go and find some answers.”

She reminded herself that all libraries held more magic than just bookwandering.

“That wouldn’t be possible,” Orlando said. “Not in any real sense. If you bookwander inside a nonfiction book, you’re not really traveling to that time or place—you’re still just going into that particular book, that writer’s version of events, their ideas. We can’t actually travel in time, or change history, which is probably for the best, all things considered. What do you want to do, Tilly?”

“Do you know,” said Tilly. “Reading books has given me a very inaccurate view of how much admin there is in adventuring. When did you last read a chapter in a book where people just had to carefully look for something?” “Well, that’s because it sounds incredibly boring,” Oskar said. “Just like this is. If we were in a film right now, this would all be turned into an inspirational montage.”

Every book that is read and loved and shared strengthens the magic of bookwandering, surely you know that. And every book that gets lost or forgotten means the magic of stories loses a tiny bit of its power. We help keep imagination in balance.

“They’re great when they have the right people in charge!” “That’s the problem,” Milo pointed out. “How do you keep the right people in charge, and who decides who the right people are? What happens when people decide on putting people like these Underwoods in charge? This mess you’re trying to fix is what happens.”

Being a reader or a writer is to be part of an everlasting chain of stories passed down from friend to friend, or grandparent to grandchild, or librarian to reader.

Inside the powder-blue menus were lists and lists of every kind of food you could possibly imagine—and what book they were from. There was clam chowder from Moby Dick, or a picnic with all the trimmings from a Famous Five book. And you could follow it up with apple pie from The Railway Children, or some Turkish delight from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. There was a full afternoon tea spread from Alice in Wonderland, glasses of raspberry cordial from Anne of Green Gables, and you could even order a gin cocktail from The Great Gatsby if you were old enough. The menu also listed something described as pickled limes from Little Women, but Tilly did not think they sounded very appetizing.

I rather think the desire to live forever should preclude someone from doing so. Getting what you want is a dangerous thing . . .”

“So we’re all special?” Oskar asked. “Or we’re all normal,” Tilly said. “I think they might be one and the same when it comes down to it,” Bea said.