Book Review: The 113th Assistant Librarian 3: Forbidden Pages, by Stuart Wilson

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A non-stop magical chase which will keep the reader engaged from beginning to end.

Feature image credit: Penguin Books Australia

Stuart Wilson is an Australian author living in Melbourne. He is also the author of the Prometheus High Series.

Forbidden Pages is the third book in the series for the 113th Assistant Librarian. Oliver Wormwood is now wholly in charge of the Blackmoor-upon-Wyvern library, which houses books such as How to Surprise Your Lettuce, and Duckweeds and Dewapples, as well as those which have been classified as forbidden by the Mages’ Guild. Oliver, the sixth child and only boy of his family, who lives in the shadow of his sisters, took over as the new assistant when the former librarian died minutes into Oliver’s apprenticeship. There was nobody else to take charge of the library. Luckily, he is helped by a girl named Agatha, who is able to split into different cats (you will need to read the first book to find out how and why).

Oliver has learnt over time that a lot of the books in his library are extremely dangerous. In the first chapter, Oliver is very shocked when Library Director Thorne arrives to take control of the library and discovers that some of the most dangerous books are overdue. To keep his job, Oliver (with Agatha’s help) needs to find them as quickly as possible before something very serious happens. Just leaving the library proves to be very difficult and life threatening!

Despite bumbling along and making some quite dubious decisions, Oliver is an endearing lead character and is always backed by Agatha. Between them, they infiltrate different parts of the city, like the auction room, an underground fighting club, and the Mages’ Guild. Trouble always follows them.

It is never smooth sailing for Oliver and Agatha, but if the books are not recovered, he will lose the job that he loves. Navigating moving bookshelves and books that spew out dangers of all kinds, Oliver will do anything to make things right, since he hopes to call the library his forever home.

There are so many twists and turns in this story, and with help from unexpected characters along the way, we are kept intrigued throughout. Wilson has created an entirely new world where nothing is as it first seems and as readers, we are constantly kept on our toes. Giant snails, retired pirates, and apprentice mages all seem entirely normal in this created world.

The underlying theme of Forbidden Pages is one of friendship and family bonds. With some very funny points along with the edge-of-your-seat moments, the reader is kept engaged from beginning to end.

Reviewed by Sue Mauger

The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.