"[Downey] shows a rare gift for crafting scrambles so madcap that it's hard to turn the pages fast enough to keep up. Well worth a spot on library shelves...but it won't stay there long." --Kirkus Starred Review
"A rollicking adventure with a smart heroine, heaps of mystery and the whole of history to explore. It's like finding Lara Croft running your local library!" --Lissa Evans, author of Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms, long-listed for the Carnegie Medal (2012) and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (2011) 
"I love how when there's nothing important going on, you just, you know, say something funny." -- G.J. Downey, author of multiple valentine cards and letters to Santa, short-listed for the Daughter of the Year Prize (2008-into perpetuity), long-listed for Reviewer of the Year in the Old-Before-Her-Time category. (2014)
Twelve-year-old Dorothea Barnes can hold her own in any fake Renaissance Faire sword-fight, but she despairs of ever finding something more important to do with her sword. Then she stumbles into Petrarch's Library, the sprawling headquarters of a secret society of librarians. Ninja librarians.

The Library's wings stretch into every century that has passed since the invention of the written word. The librarians who serve it pursue an important mission: Protect those whose words have gotten them in trouble. They pull heretics off of stakes in fourteenth century Spain, track down stolen manuscripts through the wilds of ancient Persia, and maneuver always against those who prefer to control the flow of ideas and information for their own gain.

Dorrie wants nothing more than to be allowed to stay and apprentice with these unusual librarians. Some of them, however, fear Dorrie has connections to the Foundation, an old and ruthless enemy. The Library's Director of Security would like to send Dorrie home and permanently close the door on the twenty-first century behind her. When a traitor arises from within the Library, events pull Dorrie into a pivotal role. But in order to save Petrarch's Library, she may have to erase herself from its history, forever.
"Delightfully funny from the first page, this middle- grade time-travel adventure is surprisingly full of fun and action. Downey's hilarious debut is perfect for any library-loving reader and those who never considered librarians to be cool." - Booklist
[NINJA LIBRARIANS] was engrossing, fun, clever and full of surprises…I hope this is the first in a very long series, because I'd love to spend some more time in Petrarch's Library! -- Kidsreads
"The melding of fantasy, adventure, and history is enlightening... Readers who miss the collegial, magical setting of Hogwarts will enjoy exploring Petrarch's Library." - School Library Journal
“The delightful premise will be an obvious hit with librarians and their fans…the multiple allusions to history’s unsung heroes of intellectual freedom will likely send a few readers to the 900s.” -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
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