Publisher Description

The Forbidden Library kicks off a brand new classic fantasy series perfect for fans of Coraline, Inkheart, and The Books of Elsewhere!

Alice always thought fairy tales had happy endings. That—along with everything else—changed the day she met her first fairy.
When Alice's father disappears in a shipwreck, she is sent to live with her uncle Geryon—an uncle she's never heard of and knows nothing about. He lives in an enormous manor with a massive library that is off-limits to Alice. But then she meets a talking cat. And, even for a rule-follower, when a talking cat sneaks you into a forbidden library and introduces you to an arrogant boy who dares you to open a book, it's hard to resist. Especially if you're a reader to begin with. Soon Alice finds herself INSIDE the book, and the only way out is to defeat the creature imprisoned within.

It seems Uncle Geryon is more than he says he is. But then, so is Alice.

Author Biography

Django Wexler is a self-proclaimed computer/fantasy/sci-fi geek and fulltime fantasy writer. Django's first book, an epic fantasy novel for adults, was published by Roc in Summer 2013. The Forbidden Library is his first novel for children.

Review

Praise for The Forbidden Library:

"Vaguely reminiscent of Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland and Inkheart all rolled into one, it's good fun... Working in the grand tradition of children's fantasy, Wexler's off to a promising start."—Kirkus Reviews

"By giving the richly textured literary adventures "teeth" and by placing subplots both inside and outside the books, Wexler dexterously avoids the "it's only a story" pitfall that might distance readers from the action, while the wondrous Library will gratify book lovers and fantasy experts alike."—Horn Book

"Fans of Harry Potter and Cornelia Funke's Inkheart (2003) will relish that the library houses magical books . . . It's a joy to watch the dutiful Alice develop her innate curiosity and become a proactive, resourceful heroine, matching wits with snarky cats, dangerous beasts, and a certain smug boy. This is a charming, adventuresome fantasy from a promising new author."—Booklist

"Wexler ingeniously creates an inventive world with interesting creatures and frightening situations."—School Library Journal

Review Quote

Praise for

Excerpt from Book

Chapter One: The Fairy Much later, Alice would wonder what might have happened if she''d gone to bed when she was supposed to. It was a fluke, really, because she was the sort of girl who almost always followed the rules. But she''d been doing schoolwork and she''d lost track of time. It was a Saturday night, and her tutor, Miss Juniper, had assigned her another chunk of algebra for Monday morning. Alice excelled in all her subjects--she never would have allowed it to be otherwise--but in algebra her excellence was born of hard work and long hours rather than natural talent, so she''d determined to make an early start. She wouldn''t be bothering anyone, either. Her room had its own little writing desk and even its own electric lamp, which her father had had installed three years before with the boast that no daughter of his was going to ruin her eyes scribbling by gaslight. Her father had been working late again. When Alice heard the telltale creak of the front door, she weighed the odds and decided he''d probably be happier to see her than angry that she was still up. She shrugged into her robe and padded into the hall and down the stairs. The late-night silence was a little unnerving. Alice had grown up in a house that had practically bustled with servants and guests, even in the middle of the night, and she was used to seeing strangers about. But the servants had departed one by one as times had grown mean, until only Cook, Miss Juniper, and her father''s man were left, and the visitors were less common than they used to be. The guest rooms that lined the hallway were all shut up now, with sheets draped over the furniture. She passed the doors quickly, tugging her robe a little tighter, and ducked into the servants'' stairs that led to the kitchen. Her father would probably be there, fixing himself something hot to drink. Sure enough, the swinging door at the bottom of the steps was outlined in yellow light. Alice put her hand out to push it open, but as her fingers brushed the wood she heard the voices, and realized her father wasn''t alone. ". . . you have to know what we can do for you, Mr. Creighton," said someone who wasn''t her father. "Someone is going to take advantage of it sooner or later." Alice turned away at once. Being up late was one thing, but eavesdropping on her father''s business conversations was quite another. She''d put her foot on the first step when the sound of her father''s voice brought her up short. "Don''t you dare!" he shouted. "Don''t you dare threaten my family." The words hung in the air for long seconds, like a fading firework. Her father never shouted, at least not in her hearing. He was a quiet, honest man who dealt fairly with everyone, put flowers on her mother''s grave once a month, and went to church every Sunday. Hearing him talk like that was like watching a teddy bear yawn and reveal a mouth full of fangs. Alice stood perfectly still, not daring to move even her eyes. She wanted to run, knew she ought to--whatever was being said was obviously not for her ears--but her feet felt like lead weights. "Mr. Creighton," said the other man. "Nobody''s threatening . I''m just stating a fact. Nothing wrong with stating a fact, is there? No law against it." His voice was odd, high and nasal. Alice could hear a strange sound as well, a kind of urgent thrum-thrum-thrum . "Don''t mess me around," her father said, not shouting now but still angrier than she''d ever heard him. "We both know what you''re here to say, and I''m sure you know what my answer''s going to be." "I strongly recommend you reconsider your position, Mr. Creighton." The thrumming grew louder. "For the sake of everyone involved." "By God," Alice''s father said. "So help me, I ought to break your ugly head against the wall." "You could do that," the other man said. "You could do that, Mr. Creighton. But you won''t. You know it would be unwise." His voice dropped a fraction. "For the girl, most of all." Slowly, ever so slowly, Alice turned around. Her heart was still beating so hard, it seemed a wonder that her father couldn''t hear it. She stepped back down to the door, carefully avoiding the creaky step, and pressed her fingers into the crack of light. It was wrong, possibly the most wrong thing she had ever done in her entire life, but she had to see. She gave the swinging door the lightest touch, and the crack widened into a gap big enough for a garter snake, to which she applied her eye. The light made her squint. On one side of the room was her father, still in his suit, looking rumpled. His hair was damp with sweat. One of his hands was curled around the handle of a cast-iron frying pan sitting on the range, as though he meant to swing it and make good on his threat. Across from him, hanging in the air, was a fairy. When Alice had been a little girl, her father had given her a book called The Enchanted Forest . It was a big book made with thick paper, and had large type with pen-and-ink illustrations on each facing page. She''d probably been a bit too old for it, truth be told, but she''d read it anyway, as she read every piece of printed material that fell within her reach. It was the story of a rather stupid little girl who wandered into an enchanted forest, and caused a good deal of havoc among the creatures who lived there. One of those creatures had been a fairy. It was a slim, child-like figure with wide eyes and a button nose wearing flowing robes, held aloft by gauzy insect wings--Alice had always imagined the wings in translucent greens and blues, like a butterfly''s--and it had looked down at the little girl with an air of amused benevolence while it stood daintily in her raised palm. At that age, Alice had grasped the idea that some things in books were real, and others were not. Questioning her father had revealed that there were such things as lions, tigers, and elephants (he''d promised a visit to the zoo, which had yet to happen), while trolls, centaurs, and dragons were the figments of writers'' overactive imaginations. Alice remembered feeling vaguely annoyed at the author of The Enchanted Forest, who had clearly intended to deceive little girls possessing less penetrating intellects than her own. There was, her father had told her, no such thing as fairies, either. The thing hovering in the air in Alice''s kitchen was similar enough to the picture in the book to be instantly recognizable, but he was larger, for one thing. The creature in the book had been insectile, six inches high at most, while this creature was a good two feet from head to heel. His wings were enormous, considerably bigger than his slender body, and beat the air so fast, they were a blur, like a hummingbird''s. They were colored, not in greens and blues, but yellow and black, which put Alice in mind of something nasty and poisonous. The fairy''s skin was off-white and gnarled with warty growths sprouting clusters of thick, black hair. His scalp was bare and bald as an egg, gleaming wetly in the electric light. He had no nose at all, and his eyes were wide but black from edge to edge. When he spoke, she could see a mouth full of needle-like teeth, and a long red tongue like a snake''s. Alice closed her eyes. This , she thought, is ridiculous . There are no such things as fairies. She gave herself a pinch on the arm, which hurt, and counted slowly to ten. When I open my eyes, she thought, he will be gone . "I really wish you''d at least hear my offer," said the nasal voice. Alice opened her eyes. The fairy was still there. He had hovered closer to her father, his wings thrum-thrumming, one tiny finger wagging in under his nose. "I will not," Alice''s father said. "I will not entertain any sort of offer . Go back and tell your master that. And tell him, if he troubles me again, I''ll . . ." The fairy waited, lip curled in a cocky grin that showed his teeth. "You''ll what, Mr. Creighton?" "Get out!" he shouted. "Get out of my house!" There was a long moment of silence. The fairy hovered, impudently, as if to demonstrate that he didn''t have to go just because her father had said so. Then, with an affected sigh, he spun in the air and zipped out the open doorway on the other side of the room. Alice heard one of the front windows rattle open. Her father sagged, like a heavy weight had been fastened around his shoulders. He let go of the frying pan and leaned on the range for support. Alice wanted to run to him, but she didn''t dare. Whatever she had just seen--and she was still not certain what she had just seen--it was something she had not been supposed to witness. Alice''s father took a long breath, closed his eyes, and blew it out slowly, tickling the edges of his mustache. Then his eyes snapped open, full of panic. "Alice," he said, under his breath. "Oh God." All of a sudden he was running, struggling to get his feet under him, caroming off the kitchen doorway and out toward the main stairs. Alice was caught for a moment in stunned surprise, then started running herself, back up the servants'' stairs, heedless of the creaking. He made it to her door only a few seconds before she arrived. Finding the door ajar, he flung it open, and stared wide-eyed at the empty room. His expression, bathed in the glow of her electric desk lamp, was the most terrifying thing Alice had ever seen. She hurried to his side and grabbed his arm. "Father! Is something wrong?" "You--" He gestured weakly at her empty room, then down at her. "I thought--" "I was studying," Alice said, "and I got

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