The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

In downtown Manhattan there's a very special place. It might not look like much from the outside but if you enter and make your way down to the basement, you'll find something so amazing you won't believe your eyes. The Grimm Collection. It's mysterious and powerful, and in the wrong hands could be devastating ...

I've had my eye on this for a while; I am fascinated by old fairy tales and weird artefacts (I watch Grimm and Warehouse 13, so yeah!) so this proved to be right up my street.

So, it told of young Elizabeth as she starts her new job at the Collection Library, a special kind of library that houses items rather than books. The whole mystery and history behind the collection was fascinating, from old woven rugs to Snow White's mirror that speaks in rhyme. This aspect of the book was very fun but the mystery got old towards the end of the book; it seemed everything had a magical explanation, which was pretty cool but rather annoying after a while. Saying that, I did like how most things could be tied to a fairy tale I recognised, and even if I didn't, it always gave a little back story so I could keep up, for example the Twelve Princesses. 

As for the characters, they were all very interesting to meet but it was difficult to get to know them. Elizabeth was way too naive and trusting of her new friends at the Collection; I couldn't for the life of me figure out the boys Marc and Andrew, although maybe that was on purpose because Elizabeth couldn't figure them out either. And for Anjali and her little sister, things seemed to be a little too easy for them; like the little sister (whose name I've forgotten right now) just happens to know a protection spell? Maybe it was because it was all a bit simplified, it was clearly for a young reader and I wanted something a bit more complex.

That isn't to say I didn't enjoy it, it was all just a bit too easy. However, I really did like seeing the fairy tale objects holding true magic and seeing what they could actually do. The overall story was good, just a bit young for me. 

Published 2012 by Oxford University Press.