This book was part of a pile of used books I bought. I only knew The Shadow Campaigns from this author and when I picked it up I had no idea that The Forbidden Library is aimed at a slightly younger audience. But I still enjoyed it. It's a quick and enjoyable read, evoking memories of books I read a long time ago. It's not quite His Dark Materials in terms of drama and density, but you don't always need or want that. So I recommend this book for children around Alice's age, which is 12.