The magic library card that turns up in the four separate stories in this book is a ticket to whatever each young character needs most at the time. Each story is imaginative, surprising, and well beyond the "books are good for you" theme one might expect from a tome with this title.
To the reader, it's almost Twilight Zone-y. The 12-ish kids in these stories face varied turning points as they move toward adolescence. They all find their way thanks to a mysterious blue card that seems to have materialized from nowhere.
Street kid Mongoose must decide whether to follow a friend clearly on his way to trouble or seek his own path. April, just moved from New York to an isolated farm, needs a friend. Deprived of television for a week, young Brenda must learn to handle her restlessness and figure out who, besides those goofballs on television, lives inside her head. A grieving Sonseray, barely realizing he's in need, finds comfort and a reassuring connection to his dead mother.
For many kids, the library is just that place where the Ghostbusters first got slimed. This book offers a reminder of the "real" spirits waiting on every shelf. (For ages 11 and up)