Life has always been a little lonely for twelve-year-old Casey Parker, an obsessive reader who makes up for her lack of friends with her books. The only attention she gets in school is unwanted, given a bit too enthusiastically by the school bully. But, when Casey s great uncle Walter moves back to town and takes over a mysterious little bookshop called Moonglow s, things begin to get interesting.
He gives her an old iron key and tells her to come back to read at night when the moonlight is shining in, because something truly magical happens. But there are three rules she must follow: the books must remain in the shop at night, she must keep the key with her at all times, and, above all, she must be out by midnight.
She discovers that she can physically enter the story of any book she reads. But, if she s not out by midnight, or if she forgets her key, she will be trapped inside the book forever. Casey spends the summer between grammar school and junior high leaping into different stories and learning about herself in the process. As the first day of junior high approaches, Casey knows she will have to face the bully again; disappearing into her favorite novel forever is beginning to sound like a great idea."