The Astral Library by Kate Quinn

 genre: magical realism

Alix Watson has learned over many years and many foster homes that there is one thing she can truly count on: books.  So when she is at her lowest and a door to an actual magical library appears, it feels like the realization of all her childhood dreams.  And at first, it is.  The Astral Library is a safe haven just for people like Alix who are finding the real world to be unsafe in a myriad of ways.  Very quickly, though, it is clear something is wrong and Alix gets caught up in the thick of whatever "it" is.

One part of my book-loving heart was completely captivated by this story.  I could suspend my disbelief because I wanted to, with secret librarians and finding safety in books.  Another part of me found it fairly predictable and borderline cheesy, but not in a way that made me frustrated or want to stop reading.  I just let myself acknowledge that I was finding it this way and that I still cared about Alix and wanted to finish it.  Yes, it is a little "agenda-y" but because I agree with this agenda, I think I liked that too.