Elizabeth Rew figures the library job will give her a little spending money and a chance to finally make some friends. Ever since her Dad remarried, Elizabeth has been feeling like an outsider. That's true at home, where her father barely notices her anymore and her stepmother sees her as some sort of chore machine, and at school, where the students are not interested in becoming friends with `the new girl.' So when her social studies teacher recommends Elizabeth for a job as a Page at The New-York Circulating Materials Repository, she figures `Why not?'
When Elizabeth starts work, she discovers that the Circulating Materials Repository is unlike any library she's ever seen. Instead of books, the vast building is stuffed full of things. Objects like Marie Antoinette's wig, Shakespearean-era doublets, tea sets, carpets and every other material possession imaginable are housed in the Repository's nine floors of stacks.
Even more amazing are the `special' collections. The Repository is home to a number of secret and magical objects, including those in the Grimm Collection. It seems that when the Brothers Grimm gathered folk tales and legends in their travels, they also acquired many of the magical items associated with the tales they made famous - things like dancing slippers, mermaid combs, and even the Seven League Boots.
Before long, Elizabeth feels a strong connection with both the Repository and her coworkers. She truly fits in and she enjoys easy bonds of friendship with most of her fellow Pages. But all is not well at the Repository. Someone is stealing magical objects from the Grimm Collection and until the thief is caught, everyone is a suspect, including the Pages. On top of that, one of the Pages has already disappeared and Elizabeth's friend Anjali is being stalked by a large creepy bird, of all things. It's obvious the Pages will have to take matters into their own hands if they want these mysteries solved, the Repository returned to normal, and their jobs secured.
Although Elizabeth begins the book unhappy with her new family arrangement and her father's neglect, her attitude isn't overly whiney or self-pitying. In fact, her character is a true to life representation of a teen struggling to find her way in a new family. The idea of the Repository and its special collections is fabulously presented and the story is a fun and breezy adventure with just a hint of romance. There's enough going on here, both with the plot and with the world of the Repository itself, to keep you interested from beginning to end. The Grimm Legacy is well worth reading!