Elizabeth Rew is about to find out how magical libraries really can be. After completing a research paper on the fairy tales of the Grimm brothers, Mr. Mauskopf, her social studies teacher, recommends her for a position at unique library. The New-York Circulating Material Repository is a library that specializes in realia, or objects of interest, rather than books. What is really interesting is that these objects are not just regular every-day ones, but important historical objects.

She arrives to take a position as a page (or shelver) at the repository and finds a fast home. She quickly makes friends with fellow-pages Anjali and Marc, a classmate and star basketball player from her own school. Marc is one of those guys that all of the girls, including Elizabeth herself, have a crush on. There is also Aaron, another page who seems to be cranky most of the time.

Like most libraries, the repository has special collections. In this case, one of them is the Grimm Collection, which is filled of all sorts of magical items mentioned in the Brothers Grimm tales. Staff must prove themselves before they are given an opportunity to work in the Basement, the area of the repository where the special collections are held. Before long, Elizabeth learns she is being entrusted with such access.

As she learns more and more while working at the repository, it becomes clear that there is something amiss. A former page disappeared and she was not alone. A number of the magical items from the Grimm Collection seem to have been replaced with items that are not magical. The pages are quickly looking to each other as suspects as they are confronted with the normal conflicts teens are confronted with as relationships form between them. Even with the bickering, they find they must band together if they are going to get to the root of the disappearances, save the collection, and themselves.

This was really a fun adventure story that draws on all the spooky and creative elements that were a part of the Brothers Grimm tales. Added to that is tons of humor as the kids bicker with each other as well as with some of the magical objects, such as the mirror owned by Snow White's stepmother and some troublesome winged sandals.

I thought this was a great book! I didn't want to put it down because Shulman does a great job of weaving all sorts of fairy tale lore into a modern adventure tale with interesting characters and just a touch of a Gothic feel. While the book targets mostly tweens and younger teens, I could see even older teens and adults really loving this one.