In Ansel’s world, when you turn 18, you chose a quest and complete it in order to “find yourself”. He has decided to seek out the fabled Folklords, mysterious figures wrapped in mystery and myth.
He has chosen to find the Folklords because of curious dreams he has been having of a world with metal machines, high rises, and people dressed strangely. (This is supposed to be our world, but Ansel doesn’t know that.)
Unlike in our world, the librarians of Ansel’s world hoard knowledge and stories. He’ll have to get past them to complete his quest. Will he find the Folklords before the librarians catch him?
This middle grade, fantasy graphic novel was fun. I liked the juxtaposition of our modern world with Ansel’s fantasy one.
I also liked the homage to the New York Public Library with a fantasy library and real lions guarding its gates.
This book is appropriate for middle grade readers. There’s a few pages that deal with torture but it isn’t graphic and is dealt with tastefully. Just a warning for parents who may be concerned about that kind of thing.
The story is predictable, but good.
As more book banning challenges arise all across the country, I can’t help but wonder if the librarians of Ansel’s world might cross over to ours, so to speak, locking away books and telling people what sort of information they should seek out.
I’m a huge fan of libraries and librarians (in fact, I borrowed this book from the library). So I hope we will continue to have champions standing up for knowledge and free access for all!
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