The Grimm Legacy

by Polly Shulman

Hardcover, 2010

Call number

J FIC SHU

Publication

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (2010), 336 pages

Description

New York high school student Elizabeth gets an after-school job as a page at the "New-York Circulating Material Repository," and when she gains coveted access to its Grimm Collection of magical objects, she and the other pages are drawn into a series of frightening adventures involving mythical creatures and stolen goods.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Collene_Kuznicki

The themes of “friendship requires sacrifice”, “great risk brings great reward”, and “good versus evil” are strong in this novel. The plot is original and exciting – Elizabeth and her friends have the opportunity to explore the use of real magic items from the Grimm fairytales (which

we are told were based on true stories). There are also other “special” items of note in the Repository, including science fiction-based artifacts. The setting of the Repository is so rich and the plot so carefully crafted that we can easily suspend disbelief and fall into the fantasy. The author skillfully uses first person point of view to help us identify with heroine Elizabeth, who is a lot like any typical teenage girl, trying to find her belief in herself and figure out how to do what is “right”. She doesn’t always succeed in making the best choices, but she does grow and learns important lessons, especially how to be strong in her own decisions and intuition. This book left me wishing for a sequel, because the setting and characters are so rich that it feels like there is more to tell after the end. For example, there is still a lot of mystery behind the wise, knowledgeable Dr. Rust who heads up the Repository. I would recommend this read as a choice for a book report for a middle school or high school student. High school girls would identify particularly well with Elizabeth, who has a lot of great qualities but has a hard time seeing the best in herself.

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LibraryThing member JRlibrary

17 year old Elizabeth Rew gets recommended for a job at the New York Circulating Material Repository. After working there for a very short time, she finds out that some collections are extremely unusual and some are out of bounds until she has passed a test. The Grimm Collection contains the magic

artifacts from the Grimm fairy tales, and are very special. Unfortunately, someone is stealing these artifacts, and no one knows who. The first chapter of this book grabbed my interest so thoroughly that I read right through a conversation with my husband; can't tell you what he said because I missed all of it! The book slowed down in the middle, but was still an enjoyable read. The magic artifacts reminded me strongly of Michael Buckley's Sisters Grimm series with the artifacts in the secret closet. Anyone who likes The Sisters Grimm series would probably love this book. I'm pretty sure if you read chapter one to a class, you'd have students fighting to take out the book.

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LibraryThing member sharonluvscats

ARGH! This book drove me up the wall. The Grimm Legacy has a great concept but suffers from piss poor execution. The book started off promising enough when the main character Elizabeth starts her new job at the lending library filled with not only books but magical items. The first few chapters of

her experience at the job were quite entertaining. I very much enjoyed reading about all the cool new objects that Elizabeth got to work with. However, I quickly lost interest when the secondary characters were introduced. None of them felt real to me. Another problem was that Elizabeth almost intermediately turns into a winy brat when these new characters are introduced. If I had to read another passage about how jealous Elizabeth was of her female co-workers looks I was going to throw this book out of the window.

I story also starts to slow down and get rather boring after the first few chapters. I quickly found myself losing interesting in the story and not caring about anything that happened to the characters within. It really is a shame because the concept was pretty unique. I like the idea of a museum filled with historical and magical items. If the characters had been more developed and likable this would have been a much better read.

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LibraryThing member A_Reader_of_Fictions

Elizabeth Rew does not have any friends in her high school; unlike most teens, she actually gets the most joy out of her school work. After writing an A paper on the Brothers Grimm for her history teacher, Mr. Mauskopf, he offers to set her up with a job. She agrees and finds herself working at a

freakin' sweet and unique library. Rather than lending books, this library (repository) lends materials, like chess sets, antique doublets, parasols and vases. In addition to that stuff in the main stacks, the 'dungeon' has all of the magical and science fiction-y items, straight out of fairy tales and novels. Elizabeth finds danger, excitement, friends and romance once she finally gets to open the door to the Grimm Collection in the dungeon.

The Grimm Legacy brimmed with magic. I love the premise; I so want to work at that library! The magical objects are hilarious to read about and Elizabeth is exceedingly likable. While many of the side characters lack depth, they were not totally static either. The focus of the book is more on Elizabeth's feelings about herself and development as a person that it is on the dastardly plot of a villain to steal the priceless items from the Grimm Collection. The whole mystery plot line is a bit absurd, with the bad guys never seeming any real threat and not being particularly hard to discern either. That said, do not read this out of a love for mystery.

This is a book for book lovers; Shulman's love of books and libraries exudes from every page. She compares Elizabeth to an ordinary fairy tale heroine throughout the story and makes some clever observations. It is always nice to find more teen books where the heroine does not have to be incredibly beautiful or a princess or an incredibly beautiful princess. Elizabeth is smart and, while certainly no troll, not particularly pretty. Her romance, too, follows a more believable pattern than I see in much teen literature.

This is a fun, fast-paced, magical read, well worth your time!

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LibraryThing member cherierj

I thought it was well written and engaging. The heroine was likeable but a bit naive and a little too trusting. Still that is probably a result of her young age so it was understandable. I was a bit troubled by the lack of trust between the pages. I could not believe how much Marc got away with

without receiving any serious punishment in the end. I thought the romance between Elizabeth and Aaron was a little too late. It seemed a little rushed at the end so it did not seem as believable. I would have liked to have known more about the mysterious Grace Farr. Seemed as if there was too much left unexplained which was a bit confusing. All in all, it was an enjoyable read.

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LibraryThing member lilibrarian

Among New York City's many museums and libraries, the New York Citculating Material Repository is unique in that it lends out actual items. Even more unusual, it has a collection, the Grimm Collection, of magical fairy tale items available. When Elizabeth takes a page job in the repository, she

finds herself in the middle of a magical mystery, where items are going missing and losing their power.

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LibraryThing member mamzel

Elizabeth gets a job at a New York library that collects and loans out items instead of books. She learns about a special collection of items from the fairy tales written by the brothers Grimm, a topic she is very interested in. Someone is stealing items from this collection so she and her friends

make it their business to find out who and why.

This book has a theme that could be really fun, but half of the book is spent on introducing us to Elizabeth, her friends, and the workings of this great library. The action in the last half of the book seems rushed and crammed like the author had a limited number of pages and was afraid she would run out. It was a fun read but a little disappointing.

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LibraryThing member Kewpie83

I loved 'The Grimm Legacy'. It was something I would classify as a 'fun' read-- nothing heavy or over dramatic, just plain old fun.

LibraryThing member storiesandsweeties

Just the cover is enough to pull in a die-hard lover of all things fantasy, and the title's implication of a story steeped in Brothers Grimm fairy tale magic was enough to have me waiting in line to snatch this one up on it's release day. Strangely enough, Barnes has this one hidden in the

childrens section of their store (even though it says right on their site that it is YA) so I had to do a little searching and asking. Now that I've read it, I have to say they have it misshelved! This is definitely YA---alittle lighter than most of what's out there these days, but still definitely YA. For one thing, the main characters were all high school age, and there was some definite PG-rated kissing!
Ok, now onto the actual review. :) This book was enchanting. For those of us who know and love either some or all of the Grimm Fairy Tales, this book read like an old familiar friend. It completely stirs the imagination. The setup was alittle slow, it took about fifty pages in to really get the fun part of the story going as the protagonist, Elizabeth, aquires the job at the repository and learns the ropes. The fun starts when she starts learning about the Grimm collection---real magical items from all the classic fairy tales! Who hasn't daydreamed about what they would do with a flying carpet, winged shoes, or a table that sets itself with plates of delicious food?? Then the adventure really takes off when items and repository employees start disappearing. Elizabeth and her friends can't decide who to trust (including each other!) so they take it in their own hands to solve the mystery! It's definitely a fun ride, everything is very visual and I can see this making an incredible movie someday. *crosses fingers!*

Elizabeth is a great character, she is smart and kind and considerate of others which in the end serves her well! I would have liked to know a little more about her background, because her life beyond school and this new job is just barely presented. I really liked how each character seemed to have a good side and a bad side---it really kept you guessing who the culprits were!

All in all, a great read! Light and adventurous, and very magical!

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LibraryThing member DawnFechter

Grades 6 -9.When Elizabeth goes to work in the New York Circulating Material Repository she has no idea what she is in for. The New Your Circulating Material Repository is not the library she expected but a library that circulates things instead of books. Patrons can check out historical items such

as 14th century clothing, musical instruments, sport equipment or other special items. Perhaps the most special items are ones housed in a mysterious room that is called the Grimm Collection. Elizabeth finds that not only are these items from the famous Grimm Fairy tales but the items contain magic. But someone is stealing the magical objects from the Grimm Collection and everyone is a suspect. One page has already disappeared and now one of the other pages Anjali is being stalked by a large bird. The pages must solve the mystery of the disappearing magical objects before it’s too late and return the Repository to normal and save their jobs.

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LibraryThing member horomnizon

Elizabeth (not Lizzy, Betsy, Bitsy, etc.) begins a job at the New York Circulating Material Repository only to learn that there is a room with all kinds of objects from the Grimm fairy tales - and most of them are magical. Things have been disappearing, though, and soon Elizabeth and her friends

are tangled up trying to figure out what's going on and why the objects seem to be losing their magic. All while missing her mother, putting up with her (wicked - or at least, not very nice) step-mother and dealing with typical teen/high school self-doubt.

The concept is a good one and was what made me read the book. However, I agree with those who were disappointed to not see it fully realized. The real excitement in the story doesn't start until 2/3 through the book and by then I was just reading it to be done with it. I didn't really care that much about the mystery. And, it felt like everything got tied up neatly too quickly. Things just fell into place. They get riddles to solve, but don't really solve them...just kind of fall into following what they said would happen.

The characters are interesting, although the narration can be a bit redundant in giving the reader comments about the character traits for the others over and over again. A couple times I thought, "OK already, I get it - he's snotty" or whatever.

Granted, I'm a bit older than the people this book was written for, so perhaps kids would like it much better and not be bored through most of it like I was. However, the Grimm stories that are referenced are not ones - or at least the versions of them - that most kids are going to be familiar with unless they've read the REAL Grimm's fairy tales. Although it might make them curious about those tales afterward...but not all kids are ready for the scary non-Disney versions.

So, basically, this one missed the mark for me. The concept was great, but the story itself faltered around too much in the exposition and sets up some good possibilities, but then the action dies before it really begins. It could have been a great magical adventure book, but instead it's just OK.

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LibraryThing member Booklady123

Elizabeth Rew is a lonely teen feeling left out by her father who seems bent on ignoring her, her stepmother who just wants her to do chores and her classmates who don’t seem to know she exists. What she needs is a dose of fairy tale magic. When her social studies teacher recommends her for a job

at the New York Circulating Material Library Elizabeth gladly accepts. There she makes friends with the other pages, beautiful Anjali, basketball star Marc and grumpy Aaron. It’s not long before she realizes this is no ordinary library. Not only does the collection include things other than books, but also there are some very special collections, such as The Grimm Collection. At first Elizabeth just thinks these are items that inspired the fairy tales. It’s not until valuable items start disappearing and she ends up trapped in the Grimm collection that she learns that fairy tales are real and many of the items actually came from some of her favorite child hood stories. She also learns that not all magic is good. Some of it can be dark and evil or at least snarky, like the famed “Mirror on the Wall” from Snow White. Just as she’s getting used to the idea of working with magical items, Elizabeth gets caught up in a mystery surrounding the disappearance of many of the items. Then Anjali disappears and Elizabeth, Marc and Aaron must rescue her before it’s too late.

The story follows a somewhat slower pace, but it feels right for this story. Not only does Elizabeth learn about the wonders in the collection, but she learns about herself as well as she begins to make friends with her co-workers. Of course there is a touch of romance that will not appeal to the younger reader, but the romance is overshadowed by the intrigue and magic. Readers who enjoy magical stories such as Harry Potter and The Sisters Grimm series will enjoy this book. This is a good addition to any fairy tale genre collection. I do not know if this a series, but I’d be willing to read more about Elizabeth and the Grimm Collection.

Recommended for Grades 3 and up

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LibraryThing member amandacb

Thanks to her slightly strange history teacher, Mr. Mauskopf, Elizabeth luckily snags a job at the mysterious New-York Circulating Material Repository, a library of curious objects. One of the more curious sets of objects lies in the basement—the Grimm Collection. Carefully collected by the Grimm

brothers themselves, these are items purported to have inspired the stories that children still read today, but with the added excitement of magic instilled within them.

Elizabeth becomes drawn into an intriguing mystery when someone begins taking items from the repository and replacing them with fake magical items—items whose magic wears off after a short time. Is it her secret crush, Marc, who does act suspiciously from time to time? Or is it arrogant Aaron? Or one of the librarians, or someone else completely? Using magical items from the collection to help her along the way, Elizabeth embarks on an unbelievable journey that is fun to read.

Shulman’s strengths lie in her ability to create entire worlds within one novel; the idea of a repository that houses whimsical and magical items is unique in itself, and definitely fun to read about. Our protagonist, Elizabeth, is a strong female character who may occasionally fall prey to standard tropes in young adult literature—but her strengths certainly make this book one worth reading.

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LibraryThing member j.james

Being a library worker, my high expectations for the premise of The Grimm Legacy weren’t entirely fair. Like Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, the concept of the book is definitely better than the book. But unlike Grossman’s book, The Grimm Legacy was at least an enjoyable read with likable

characters.

I love the library/repository setting of the book, and Poly Shulman does a great job creating an image of setting in the reader’s head (I imagined an old Carnegie Library of sorts). The characters are somewhat typical, but the main character, Elizabeth Rew, is likably flawed enough to be intriguing. For some bizarre reason, I longed for the book to be darker, more mysterious, but it reads more like a juvenile book than a young adult.

This is one of those books you can read in an evening or two. It’s entirely entertaining and the concept warrants future installments.

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LibraryThing member RivkaBelle

The blurb made me think it was going to be an adventure along the lines of The Librarian or Indiana Jones, but with only stuff from Grimm fairy tales. And that was a part of the story, but not all of it. Shulman actually seemed to focus more on the characters and their development throughout the

story than on really fleshing out the 'magical' Grimm items. While that probably makes it a better story, I'd still have liked a little more detail -- I mean, come on! It's a library that has stuff. Really, really cool stuff. Like Seven-League Boots and Snow White's Stepmother's mirror and anything you could think of from one of Grimm's fairy tales.

I could definitely see these kids showing up in a high school. Their adventures are a little surreal, but they're supposed to be - and, there's this nifty little thing called 'the willing suspension of disbelief': if you're going to read fiction (and enjoy what you read), you need to be friends with this idea. I would never expect this to happen in real life, but at the same time, The Grimm Legacy reads as if it might actually happen - if, you know, it could happen. The challenges are real, the motives ring true - people aren't perfect, and even the 'good guys' have an oops-moment or two. It's a fun read, a fast read though. I felt like I flew through the book.

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LibraryThing member bplma

Lonely teenager and avid Grimm Fairy Tale enthusiast, Elizabeth, finds herself working at a special object repository-- library-- along with several other teens, including one of the coolest kids at school. The library has a mysterious and magical collection of Grimm Fairy Tale items that are being

stolen and may be used for dark purposes. For me, the book started well and Schulman definitely paints a great physical setting -- NYC, the library and the different rooms, the gothic feel, etc. but the characters are the usual teen things-- and the story does not have enough to do with Grimm fairy tales to hold my interest-- while i thought Elizabeth had promise, the others were typical teen types-- and as for elizabeth, i found my self wondering how she went from hating to loving one teen and why she was attracted to him in the first place. started with promise but i lost intersest-- still, i am an adult and i will see if i have a 5th grader who might like it-- and , perhaps, give me a better perspective of what is appealing about it. Althought the premise was clever and the beginning had promise, i found myself disappointed and fought to finish it. Ah well -- you can't llike everything.

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LibraryThing member madamepince

Enjoyable young adult fantasy with allusions to Grimm's fairy tales. The mystery is a little tame as is the romance and the violence is minor.

LibraryThing member BunaHSLibrary

Thanks to her science teacher, Elizabeth is offered a very unusual, new job. She works in a library that lends, not books, but objects. At first, it seems to be fairly straightforward. People check out period clothing for plays, tea sets for entertaining, tools for fixing things, etc. However,

Elizabeth soon learns that some of the objects in their collection are not what they seem. She learns that there is a collection in the basement called The Grimm Collection, that holds magical items straight from Grimm fairytales. These items include seven-league boots which allow the wearer to travel seven leagues with one step, a table that creates a huge feast, the mirror that belonged to Snow White's evil step-mother, and much more. These magical items are very powerful, as well as dangerous in the wrong hands, and now these items are starting to disappear. With the help of her coworkers and some magical items, Elizabeth sets out to catch the mysterious thief.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt that the story was a bit rushed in places though. For instance, the conflicts were resolved too quickly, and could have been drawn out a bit more. Overall, it was a fun read that most people would enjoy.

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LibraryThing member ejmeloche

Elizabeth is just happy to have the chance to earn some extra money when her history teacher sets her up with a job at the New York Circulating Material Repository. When she discovers that the library is home to several magic artifacts—and that someone may be trying to steal them—the job

becomes that much more exciting.

Though readers may not expect excitement from a book where the majority of action takes place in a library, The Grimm Legacy is remarkably fast-paced, avoiding the exposition-heavy descriptions often found in the fantasy genre. The characters are likeable, but rather one-dimensional, making some of their actions predictable. Despite some of the anticipated plot-points, Grimm Legacy is a novel concept well executed.

Recommended.

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LibraryThing member BookAddictDiary

The entire concept of The Grimm Legacy is just perfect, and really fun. As a big fan of the original Grimm fairy tales and fairy tale re-tellings (especially of the somewhat darker and gritter hue), you just couldn't go wrong with something like this. Let me just start out with review by saying: if

you enjoy any of the above types of books, then you should read Grimm Legacy it completely delivers.

Elizabeth has a new job at a strange library, complete with an exclusive collection of very special artifacts. Not just any artifacts, but special items (real ones) from various Grimm's fairy tales, including the wicked queen's mirror from Snow White, puss in boots' actual boots, and a number of other items believed to only exist in fairy tales. And it's Elizabeth's job to protect the items, until they are stolen.

The perfect blend of magic, romance and twisty plot development, Grimm Legacy is a well-written and fun book that had me involved from beginning to end. As a big library patron, I particularly enjoyed the library aspect of the book, and had a great time with the magical overtones and sweet, fairy tale-like romance.

A great book, I'd recommend Grimm Legacy to legions of fairy tale fans everywhere.

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LibraryThing member BrigidNoel

This book had a lot to build on, but it barely touched on what could have made it interesting (for instance, there was hardly anything about the fairy tales or Grimm brothers themselves). The main character wasn't very well developed, and the relationships played out in predictable and boring ways.

The story seems to build up to a great adventure, but the final scenes are anticlimactic. This book is more suited for younger teens and children, as it lacks the emotional depth often desired for older readers and the younger characters play too large a role in the story.

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LibraryThing member reece1999

The Grimm Legacy is about this girl named Elizabeth. Her teacher recommends this job for her at this library like place. When she gets there it isn't like what she expected. This book is full of mystery, romance, and adventure. Join Elizabeth in her life and see what it in the Grimm Collection. It

isn't what it seems.
This book was amazing. I especially loved the ending because that was when all the action happens. If you like the Sisters Grimm you would like this book. It is fiction mixed with reality made into a whole book. Read about everyday things mixed with mystery.

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LibraryThing member Melissa.mhan3754

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman is about this girl named Elizabeth who takes this job at the New-York Circulating Material Repository. There she makes new friends, learns the secrets of the Grimm Collection and is even trusted with the key and ability to borrow items from that room. Magical items

are starting to disappear and witht the help of her friends, Elizabeth get on this dangerous quest to capture the theif. They need to be extreemly careful though because of the magic and powerful items. Elizabeth almost gets hurt from this evil bird which in the end becomes on of her friends also. In the end everything goes alright except for one thing. This one thing is Elizabeth's sense of direction which she learns is something very valuable even if you don't think you are good with it.
This was an amazing book, and I really enjoyed reading it. I thought it was pretty cool how Aaron shrunk Elizabeth and Marc with the shrink ray. There were also some parts that were funny and made me laugh, and also some love in it too. It is amazing how the author makes it so good and complicated but then it all ties up at the end. I liked the part when Elizabeth and her friends went to The Garden of Seasons. It seemed like a beautiful place to see and be at. I am sad there is not a sequal to this book, but I would recommend it especially if you like magic and fairytales!

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LibraryThing member SunnySD

Elizabeth Rew could fit into a fairy tale herself - her stepsisters (2) aren't exactly friendly, and her stepmother is demanding and critical, while her father is distracted and distant. But Elizabeth doesn't think of herself as a fairy tale worthy heroine - even when a job at the New York

Circulating Material Repository brings her into touching distance of the fabulous Grimm Collection. The collection is mysterious enough, but something more sinister is at work, and soon Elizabeth and her fellow pages are scrambling to unravel the mystery before any more disaster strikes.

A fun, if slightly predictable, adventure - and it's set in a library, what could be better than that!

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LibraryThing member foggidawn

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman is one of those books that I could have really loved . . . but I didn't. I liked it, and would recommend it, but I wanted it to be fantastic, and it was merely good. The premise is that a teenage girl, Elizabeth Rew, gets a job as a page in a circulating materials

repository (like a library, but with objects instead of books). In the repository, there are a few special collections -- very special collections. For instance in the Grimm collection, there are various magical objects from fairy tales. Of course, All Is Not Well: someone is stealing items from the collection and replacing them with non-magical ones. There's also a cute boy and an annoying boy, to provide some romantic tension.

Perhaps my expectations for this book were too high. I think my main problem was that the dialogue felt stilted in places. The plot and pacing were fairly good, although I found parts of it pretty predictable. And I had a few quibbles with the fairy tale objects collection. Readers going in should know they're not all from Grimm tales -- some hail from Perrault, some from mythology, and some from other sources. (This isn't necessarily explained in the book, and it bugged me. For instance, they reference Cinderella's glass slipper, but in Grimm's "Aschenputtel," the slipper is gold. Perhaps I am being too persnickity, but I'm a bit of a fairy-tale nerd -- and the main character in the book is supposed to be, as well.) I would still recommend this book -- just not as enthusiastically as I would have done if it had lived up to my expectations.

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