Restricted Section: Do not enter (unless you like danger, sword fights and the Dewey Decimal System).
When Dorrie and her brother Marcus chase an unusually foul-tempered mongoose into the janitor's closet of their local library, they make an astonishing discovery: the headquarters of a secret society of ninja librarians. Their mission: protect those whose words get them into trouble, anywhere in the world and at any time in history.
Petrarch's Library is an amazing, jumbled, time-traveling secret base that can dock anywhere there's trouble, like the Spanish Inquisition, or ancient Greece, or...Passaic, New Jersey. Dorrie would love nothing more than to join the society, fighting injustice with a real sword! But when a traitor surfaces, she and Marcus are prime suspects. Can they clear their names before the only passage back to the twenty-first century closes forever?
★ "[Downey] shows a rare gift for crafting scrambles so madcap that it's hard to turn the pages fast enough to keep up. Well worth a spot on [the] shelves…but it won't stay there long." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Delightfully funny from the first page...Downey's hilarious debut is perfect for any library-loving reader and those who never considered librarians to be cool." —Booklist
"[A] melding of fantasy, adventure, and history...Readers who miss the collegial, magical setting of Hogwarts will enjoy exploring Petrarch's Library." —School Library Journal