Three friends fight an evil developer who wants to tear down the magical library. What should this trio of friends do during summer vacation? Outdoorsy Kit, a White girl, despairs of her friends, Alita and Josh, both kids of color, she really does. Why do they want to read when they could go to the cemetery and get muddy instead? But in the library, Kit discovers an ability: When she touches certain books, she travels to a magical place. Faith, the Black head librarian, her hair in locs, explains with some surprise that Kit is a wizard. It's a puzzler, Faith tells her, because wizardry doesn't typically show up until someone turns 18, and Kit is only 10. Faith wants Kit to keep her wizardry a secret, but good luck keeping the knowledge from Alita and Josh, who eavesdrop. So the friends tag along while Kit learns magic (a significant component of which seems to be librarianship), gains a wizard cloak, and befriends Dogon, the half-dog, half-dragon who lives in the magical library forest. With Josh's and Alita's attention to detail and Kit's natural magic, maybe they'll be able to defeat Mr. Salt, the pink-faced CEO who plans to tear down the library--if impulsive Kit learns to channel her inner chaos and trust her friends. Playful illustrations complement the witty dialogue, dryly ironic narrative voice, and comical villainy. Joyful and funny. (Fantasy. 7-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Kit and her two best friends, Josh and Alita, are trying to decide what to do on the first day of summer vacation. Kit wants to explore an old, overgrown cemetery, but Alita and Josh want to go to the library. Kit thinks that is a mind-numbingly boring idea, but she gives in. The library, however, changes Kit's life: according to Faith, the librarian, Kit is a wizard, and it will be up to Faith to guide her into both wizardry and librarianship, skills that are inextricably linked. Kit is thrilled, especially when she starts learning spells, until a threat appears in the form of Hadrian Salt, a wealthy wannabe wizard. He wants to wake up the dragon sleeping under the library and drain her power. Faith, Kit, and her friends have to work together to stop him. Stowell stirs together her characters and her narrator with a cheery spoon, and her story is generously laced with humor. With inviting text and an engaging protagonist, this should have wide appeal.