"A deeply satisfying, page-turning, genre-defying read." -- 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<.

Autorentext

Kekla Magoon

Klappentext

An instant New York Times bestseller!
**
“A deeply satisfying, page-turning, genre-defying read.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)**

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.

Leseprobe
1
Dally paused with her hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath. In all her eleven and a half years, nothing had ever felt so important. Clutching the large folder that could make or break her fate, she turned the knob and pushed her way through the door, into the outer office. A bright blue-and-gold block-printed rug led like a runway toward the receptionist’s desk, but a few steps in, Dally forced her gaze up from the carpet. She pulled her shoulders back, held her head high. Confident. Assertive. Determined to get what she wanted.
   “Hi,” she said to the curly-haired woman behind the L-shaped desk. “I have a three-thirty appointment.”
   “Hello, Miss Peteharrington,” the receptionist said. “You can go right in, of course.”
   Dally glanced at the digital clock on the desk. It read 3:28. “I’m a bit early,” she said, hugging her folder. “Should I wait?”
   The receptionist smiled gently, a mix of kindness and sadness in her expression. “I suppose so. Let me just ring her.” She picked up the desk phone and pressed a single button. “Your three-thirty is here.”
   Dally nodded. She rather liked the formal sound of that.
   “Will do,” the receptionist said into the phone. To Dally, she said, “She’s ready for you. Go ahead.”
   “Thank you,” Dally said. She opened her folder and glanced inside one last time.
   “Good luck,” whispered the receptionist.
   Dally hoped she wouldn’t need luck. She had prepared a very convincing presentation, if she did say so herself. But out loud, she said a polite “Thank you.”
   Dally followed another blue-and-gold carpet toward the main office door, head high, folder in hand. The folder contained a tablet with her slideshow already cued up, plus a full backup printout of her presentation, complete with seventeen graphs, two pie charts, three research articles, and a flip chart of bulleted notes printed in her neatest handwriting.
   If all that didn’t convince her mother, nothing would.
   Dally was prepared. She had made the appointment on Friday for this Monday afternoon. She didn’t always have to make an appointment to see her mother, of course, but during business hours it was generally a good idea. Dally badly needed a yes today, and interrupting her mother’s work without warning was sure to put her in a bad mood.
   For the last three school days, Dally had spent her free time—the unscheduled hour after school ended and before her business lessons began—doing research and organizing her thoughts. Then, over the weekend, she’d practiced her presentation several times in front of the mirror. Her mother needed a good reason to do anything different, so Dally had a whole folder full of reasons.
   “Hello, Delilah,” said Dally’s mother. She rounded the desk and held out her hand to her daughter. “It’s nice to see you.”
   “It’s nice to see you, too,” Dally responded. She gripped her mother’s hand and shook firmly, the way she had been taught.
   “Please,” her mother said, gesturing toward the chairs on the visitor side of the desk. It was a boss’s way of saying, Have a seat, but remember who’s in charge here.
   The chairs were wingbacks and quite large. Dally perched on the very edge of one so that her feet still touched the floor. She usually enjoyed climbing into them and watching her feet stick straight out, but it wouldn’t do to be kicking and flailing while she was trying to seem responsible and businesslike.
   Dally’s mother was always perfectly businesslike. Her wavy brown hair was tucked into a neat chignon at the base of her neck, resting on a crisply ironed blouse collar. The delicate features on her smooth, pale face appeared calm. Dally had not inherited the always-put-together gene. Her school uniform top was hopelessly wrinkled. She had restrained her generous black curls somewhat before this meeting, but her full, brown cheeks felt blotchy with heat that certainly was visible. Appearance was only one of the many, many ways that she and her mother were different.
   Her mother settled back into her own chair behind the desk. “Interesting that you’ve made an appointment. I assume you have some business to discuss with me?”
   Dally sat quietly for a moment. She had rehearsed this part many times. She knew exactly where to begin, and yet it was all different now that she was in the stately office, with the huge brown desk and the glare of afternoon light through the windows and the pressure of her mother’s gaze on her performance.
   “This is your meeting,” her mother prompted. “What’s on your mind?”
   Dally swallowed hard. “Yes, I have a presentation,” she said, placing her tablet on the desk facing her mother and starting the slideshow. Lead with the information, land on the ask, s…