The Secret Library

By: Kekla Magoon

Narrated by: Nekia Renee Martin

Travel through time with National Book Award Finalist Kekla Magoon in a page-turning fantasy adventure about family secrets and finding the courage to plot your own life story.

Since Grandpa died, Dally’s days are dull and restricted. She’s eleven and a half years old, and her exacting single mother is already preparing her to take over the family business. Starved for adventure and release, Dally rescues a mysterious envelope from her mother’s clutches, an envelope Grandpa had earmarked for her. The map she finds inside leads straight to an ancient vault, a library of secrets where each book is a portal to a precise moment in time. As Dally “checks out” adventure after adventure—including an exhilarating outing with pirates—she begins to dive deep into her family’s hidden history. Soon she’s visiting every day to escape the demands of the present. But the library has secrets of its own, intentions that would shape her life as surely as her mother’s meticulous plans. What will Dally choose? Equal parts mystery and adventure—with a biracial child puzzling out her identity alongside the legacy of the past—this masterful middle-grade fantasy rivets with crackling prose, playful plot twists, and timeless themes. A satisfying choice for fans of Kindred and When You Reach Me.

We loved it

I listened to this story with my 7 year old who is mixed too. We loved it. I loved how it covered race, gender, and history.

Delightful

The mixture of Fantasy, Realistic and Historical Fiction sprinkle with a smig of suspense maintains peak interest.

Interesting, but preachy

The story is interesting, but tends to present a one-sided view on things such as gender, sexuality, and race. Even though I agree, with many of the ideas presented, I would prefer a balanced argument, even in a children’s book.

Dally is dope

Dally is such a soulful character. Her personality shines through and her connection to her family and realization of life is amazing. I had a similar story I wrote, and now I have to change the chest from being in the library when they go back in time. However this was an awesome story for all readers.

What stood out most is that it was about the family secrets that she discovers

What I liked was that it wasn’t like any ordinary book it was very mysterious what I didn’t like was the ending I thought it would be more like hey guess where I went to the mother