Magoon, Kekla. The Secret Library. Candlewick Press, 2024. 978-1-536-23088-8. 384 p. $18.99. Grades 4-8.

Sixth grader Delilah (Dally) Peteharrington is living a life of privilege on her family’s massive estate in present-day South Carolina. Her widowed, work-obsessed mother grooms her to take over the family business by micro-scheduling academic activities and requiring Dally to make appointments to see her. Dally’s only fun time is with her grandfather. When he dies abruptly, her misery is momentarily assuaged by the gift he left her: A map to a library that holds people’s secrets. Well-trained by her grandfather, Dally cracks the code on the map and creates a ruse to visit this “secret library” during her one free hour after school. Dally follows the map and the edifice magically appears, whisking Dally into a world that offers her comfort as well as challenges. Guided by the kind librarian, Jennacake, Dally returns day after day to choose a volume revealing a different type of secret. At first, Dally chooses simple secrets, like where the housekeeper stashes her “cheer up” candies; but, gradually, her time travel excursions take a more radical turn, not only does she become a witness to her own parents’ relationship, but also, the lineage of her ancestors. Dally is biracial, but learns there are family secrets about race and color passing in her family, as well as secrets around gender identity. The Secret Library contains adventurous escapades, thoughtful commentary on discrimination and societal constructs, and a complicated parent-child relationship. Jennacake advises Dally that she will learn about herself through her experiences at The Secret Library, and that proves true as she finds herself on a pirate ship in 1850 or on her own undeveloped homestead in the 1950’s. Author Kekla Magoon offers an unpredictable story with enough interest to keep young readers turning pages, though the action gets a bit muddled as the author tries to wrap up Dally’s connection with The Secret Library. Fans of Trenton Stewart’s Mysterious Benedict Society or Pseudonymous Bosch’s The Name of this Book Is Secret series may like this book.

THOUGHTS: Kekla Magoon serves up some surprises in this book, once Dally explores her family history. These surprises make the book interesting, but also a bit heavy handed.

• The secret sends her to 1850 to a pirate ship led by white Eli and his first mate, a Black man,Pete. Dally shares with them that where she is from men can love men. When she returns around 1854–Eli and Pete are imprisoned and Eli’s appearance has changed and– big surprise–Eli has a baby, but says they want to be a man. During the 20th century, her visits to the past show her great-grandfather as white passing and disowning his own Black family as he grows his financial empire. At another visit, Dally gives a simple explanation of racial construct to her then-teenaged grandfather.
• In our world where privacy is hard to maintain, The Secret Library gives an ethical balance about keeping others’ secrets.
• Dally’s relationship with her mother is contentious; she feels ignored and unloved because her mother is driven by work and wealth. However, the visits show another side of her mother, one Dally doesn’t comment on.
• (Spoiler) Eleven-year-old Dally is posed to take over as librarian at The Secret Library, eliminating any chance of having a life of her own, with her own adventures. However, Magoon devises a way for Dally to live a robust life and still wind up as the librarian for The Secret Library. This part is jammed in at the end and confusing.
• Time–is it linear or parallel?

In summary, The Secret Library stands out as an unusual and interesting book There is a lot going on. Some readers will like the action and fantasy part; some readers will understand the racial, gender, and relationship implications.

Fantasy