Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

The Secret Library

the secret library

Credits

Age Range

Publisher

Awards

Year Published

Reviewer

Rachel Pfeiffer

Book Review

Dally is sad and lost after her grandpa dies, and she’s alone with her strict mother. However, she soon finds and decodes a map he left her. It leads her to the secret library, where the volumes of books are composed of secrets.

By opening a book, Dally is transported back in time. She learns about her past and has many adventures. The longer Dally visits the library, the more she realizes she must find a way to avoid being trapped in a life devoid of adventure.

Plot Summary

When her grandpa passes away, Dally is devasted. She craves a life full of adventure, and Grandpa was the one person who understood that quiet yearning in her. Dally’s mom is only concerned with her learning about finance so she can take over the family business and protect the family fortune.

However, one day Dally discovers a map her grandpa left her. She follows it to the hidden library where all of the books actually contain secrets. When a person opens a book, they travel back in time to when a secret was revealed. With the help of the librarian, Dally learns how to navigate the library and travel through many secrets. She sails the seas with pirates and learns more about her family history.

With each passing day, Dally feels the walls closing in around her. She doesn’t want the life of business and wealth her mom has planned for her, but she learns that the library might not be able to offer her escape much longer either. Dally will need all of her ingenuity and courage to blaze her own path and find the life she craves.

Christian Beliefs

The devil and sin are mentioned.

Other Belief Systems

Luck, destiny and fate are mentioned. The library itself is a magical one. Dally’s grandpa specifically says in his last letter to her that he doesn’t speculate about what happens after death, but he believes they’ll meet again. Dally prays to whatever god rules the ocean. Guardian angels are mentioned as well.

Authority Roles

Dally’s mom loves her but is very strict and always working. She makes Dally do lots of extra tutoring. Eli is the captain of the ship, but the crew’s loyalty is questionable. Slavery and slave owners are discussed and appear when Dally travels to the past. Dally’s great grandfather pretended to be white because his skin was light enough to do so. Her grandfather learned his father’s secret but never told.

Profanity & Violence

Dally’s grandparents’ and father’s deaths are all discussed. Alcohol is mentioned. Racism and slavery are discussed. Some library patrons die on their adventures. The pirates tell stories about killing and plundering people. Mr. Horatio’s leg bleeds terribly after being stabbed by a knife. Jack almost drowns. Pete has chain and whip scars from when he was enslaved. Dally says “heck.” Pete says “hell.” Dally calls Jack a doofus.

Sexual Content

One of Dally’s classmates is transgender, another is nonbinary, and a third uses they/them pronouns. Dally recounts how one classmate had a multigender sleepover the previous year that angered some parents. She thinks this is an overreaction, since she believes gender to be a social construct.

Dally sleeps on the floor in the captain’s quarters on the pirate ship because it wouldn’t be proper for her to sleep next to Jack.

In one of the memories, Dally meets two homosexual men in a relationship, Eli and Pete. However, she later learns that Eli is a woman who identifies as a man. She discovers this when Eli gives birth to a baby.

Discussion Topics

Do you ever feel frustrated with your parents? How can you respond better than Dally did?

Do you think knowing your family history is important? Why or why not?

Read Genesis 1:26-31. How does this passage’s description of God making two genders, male and female, in His image contrast with how gender is depicted in this story?

Additional Comments

The Secret Library contains many problematic ideas and lifestyles not appropriate for children. Additionally, relationships are mostly strained throughout the book, as Dally consistently disobeys her mother with the rationale that her mom is overbearing and unfair.

You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected].

Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not necessarily their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

Rachel Pfeiffer

Rachel Pfeiffer serves as Editor of Focus on the Family Clubhouse magazine, where she acquires and crafts stories to entertain and disciple children. She graduated from Taylor University with a degree in professional writing and Moody Theological Seminary with an MA in Biblical Studies. When she’s not curled up with a good book, she can often be found hiking the beautiful Colorado Rockies.

Want to stay Plugged In?

Our weekly newsletter will keep you in the loop on the biggest things happening in entertainment and technology. Sign up today, and we’ll send you a chapter from the new Plugged In book, Becoming a Screen-Savvy Family, that focuses on how to implement a “screentime reset” in your family!