Books on Tour: The Book Binder's Daughter by Jessica Thorne
About the Book:
The song surrounded her now, the murmuring of the library insistent, and her foot took the first step on the winding stairs. She knew it wasn’t entirely a dream. It was the library calling her, its magic driving her.
When Sophie is offered a job at the Ayredale Library – the finest collection of rare books in the world, and the last place her bookbinder mother was seen when Sophie was just a teenager – she leaps at the chance. Will she finally discover what happened to the woman she’s always believed abandoned her?
Taking in the endless shelves of antique books, the soaring stained-glass windows, and the grand sweeping staircase, usually shy Sophie feels strangely at home, and is welcomed by her eccentric fellow binders. But why is the Keeper of the Library so reluctant to speak about Sophie’s mother? And why is Sophie the only person who can read the strange spells in the oldest books on display, written in a forgotten language nobody else understands?
The mysteries of the library only deepen when Sophie stumbles upon an elaborately carved door. The pattern exactly matches the pendant her mother left behind years ago, engraved with a delicate leaf. As the door swings open at her touch, Sophie gasps at the incredible sight: an enormous tree, impossibly growing higher than the library itself, its gently falling golden leaves somehow resembling the pages of a book. Amidst their rustling, Sophie hears a familiar whisper…
‘There you are, my Sophie. I knew you’d come back for me.’
An absolutely spellbinding read about long-hidden family secrets and the magic that lurks between the pages of every ancient book. Perfect for fans of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Night Circus and The Binding.
Author Bio
Jessica Thorne saw Star Wars at an impressionable age and life was never the same. She’s loved fantasy, romance and science fiction ever since and spends her time looking for adventure – in the pages of her books.
Sometimes she is Ruth Frances Long and won the European Science Fiction Society Spirit of Dedication Award for Best Author of Children’s Science Fiction and Fantasy, 2015.
Social Media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessthornebooks
Website: http://www.rflong.com/jessicathorne/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessthornebooks
Jessica Thorne has created a magical masterpiece in The Book Binder's Daughter. The reader is introduced to a magical library that holds all the secrets and mysteries the world holds since the beginning of time. This novel is a magical escape for those of us that whole-heartedly agree with Jessica Thorne that libraries are one of the most magical places on Earth.
Sophie Lawrence is The
Book Binder's Daughter. Sophie was raised in a mystical library that
housed sacred text from all over the world. Her mother, Elizabeth, and father,
Phillip, both worked inside the library as book binders and restorers of
historical text. Sophie's mother dies tragically at the beginning of the novel
leaving her and her father unexpectedly. Her father is so distraught that he
leaves the library all together and refuses to talk with Sophie about the library
or the reason for her mother's death. The whole beginning portion of Sophie's
life becomes shrouded in mystery as her mind blocks out everything about her
past at the library. After seeing therapist, it is suggested that she possibly
suffers from PTSD from losing her mother so abruptly. Her father refuses to
acknowledge any of her past and does not allow her to seek any information
relating to their history with the library.
As an adult Sophie is a shell
of the once vibrant child she used to be. She is quiet and reclusive. She works
within a library in London as one of its top book restorers and preservationist.
Her Uncle Edward comes to her one day and offers Sophie her mother’s position at
the infamous library of her youth and she cannot refuse. Sophie hopes that
returning to the library of her past she can start putting the pieces of her
life back together and find out what happened to her mother, at last. Upon
returning she is reunited with her first love, Will. He observes how fragile
and quiet Sophie is, she is no longer the fearless girl he remembered, but is now
a quiet mouse of a woman.
"Breakdowns were a bit
more serious than a cold or flu and sometimes when you were put back together,
all the bits didn't fit properly."
Coming back to the library
sparks Sophie’s memory and she begins to start remembering bits and pieces of
what happened the day she lost her mother. She begins to remember that this
library is not just an average library but a powerhouse for the world's history and
creativity, and the staff are not just librarians but keepers and guardians of all
the world’s knowledge and treasures.
I found The Book
Binder's Daughter incredibly interesting. The way Jessica Thorne
relates the destruction of all the world's greatest libraries to the Axis
Mundi/Tree of Knowledge, I thought was very clever. Jessica explains and
relates all those libraries' demise to the "uprooting" of this
critical tree of knowledge and creativity, and how without organization within
a library no one would ever be able to find the information they need on
subjects, resulting in chaos and a loss of knowledge.
Coming away from reading this
novel I have a greater appreciation for libraries and their staff. The hard
work and dedication they put in to keep all those incredible tomes of
creativity and knowledge in order. Librarians (keepers) take the chaos (Axis
Mundi) of all those books (knowledge/creativity) and assemble them all together
on shelves (archivist) and use the card catalog (guardian) to keep all the
subjects together and in order so you and I can easily walk into any local
library and find whatever our hearts' desire. Jessica Thorne is absolutely
brilliant in her description of the magic of librarians!
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy for an honest review.
For Purchase: The Book Binder's Daughter
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