Dragon's Green by Scarlett Thomas

I discovered Dragon's Green by Scarlett Thomas through a review in the Guardian. 

Dragon's Green sounds as if it could be a small city park or perhaps an herbal tea, but it turns out to be a book that was left to Effie by her maternal grandfather, Griffin Truelove. Effie, who is eleven, has long suspected that her grandfather had something to do with magic, but it's not until he dies and leaves her his pouch of magical objects, his library of powerful books, and his mystical silver ring that she comes to realize she was right. Although confused to have this magic life thrust on her, she bravely carries forth. 

We first meet Effie five years after the Worldquake, an event during which the earth shook for seven-and-a-half minutes. It is a strange world now. There is no internet although there is something called the dim net. There are no cell phones and people carry pagers and use two-way radios to communicate. There is an organization called the Guild and another one - an evil one - known as Diberi. 

Effie's mother went missing after the Worldquake and is presumed dead. Effie's father, who has become distant from his daughter, sells the grandfather's library to a sleazy character. Effie's quest, with the help of her friends, is to rescue the books.

I am enjoying Effie's adventures with her newfound friends, Lexy, Maximilian, Wolf, and Raven. The book holds lovely descriptions of food, books, and cabinets full of curiosities. I am just along for the ride and putting my practical mind on the shelf and letting myself fall under the spell of this tale. 

It makes me wish that someday someone would bequeath me a library full of magical books and a pouch of enchanted objects.