Just as an FYI…this will be my last regularly scheduled post until fall.  Others will pop up here and there, but I plan to read, edit, and write my way poolside as much as humanly possible, shirking all deadlines not set in stone.  Here’s to golden summers!

And now, on to my spotlight this week…

It seems about every other of my reviews is glowing, while the next is a bit mixed.  I don’t plan it that way—honest!  But, it’s how my reading falls out.  I wonder if this is me, or the books?  In other words, when I’ve really loved a particular story, am I harder on the next just because it’s different?  Perhaps sometime I should pull out the books I had a mixed reaction to and read them all in a row, compared only to one another.  Maybe some would get a more favorable review.

All scientific inquiry of the kind aside, I’m pretty sure Alcatraz vs. The Evil Librarians would still get a mixed reaction from me.  It’s very well written and the story core was delightful—but I found the narrative voice intrusive, moderately annoying, and sometimes manipulative.  On the other hand, the author (who’s a fellow I’ve met briefly and whose other books I’ve loved), Brandon Sanderson, makes no bones about his intention to be exactly that right from the beginning, so at least he’s fair.  And, despite all of the above quirks being obvious upfront, I couldn’t help but continue to read, so it passed my litmus test and earned its moment in the spotlight.

The truth is, most kids will probably love this book.  It’s very ingenious, with brilliant world building and a magic system that’s wholly unique—at least to my knowledge.  It’s also highly accessible, since it’s set here in our regular modern world…despite that world being rather different than we perceive it to be.  In addition, the premise that librarians are the bad guys, and enjoy a totalitarian reign through their total control of information, may appeal to some kids and amuse others.  Personally, I found the application of this premise a bit heavy-handed, but I can’t deny that it gave me pause to think.

So, what’s the book about?  I haven’t really said, I suppose.  Well, it’s about a super special boy who doesn’t know he’s special, and who’s been raised with no knowledge of the secret world in which he’ll one day be a hero.  He’s been without privilege or even love, for the most part, whereas if he’d been raised with a knowledge of who he is he would have been almost a young Lord.  Sound familiar?  How about this: on his birthday (13^th in this case) he gets a package in the mail which includes his heritage, and his introduction to the special secret world.  It’s quickly followed by a quirky visitor from that world, one who’s loved him since he was a baby, and his education in the powers and magic ability he’s always possessed but never knew he had.

Yeah.  There’s a couple similarities to the Harry Potter books.  However, in its defense, the awareness of the similarities does not intrude, and the story itself is so different that they really are superficialities without any further significance.  The magic isn’t wielded through wands, but through eye glasses, if you can believe it.  And glass of all other kinds, including some uses you’re not likely to think of but still somehow seem to fit.  The whole tone of the story is different, as it’s hard to picture guns—and a bazooka—playing an important role in the HP books, or there being a raid on a library, for that matter.  Still, Brandon clearly realized there would be comparisons, as he gives a nod to those comparisons at the end in a tongue-in-cheek reference to Harry being left with his despised muggle relatives each summer.

Phew!  This is a long review.  Let’s wrap it up by seeing what Apricot-kitty thought of it:

“Gave me a headache, that’s what.  So much nonsense, so much running around and smashing stuff, with that boy breaking this and breaking that.  Really a rather destructive book, don’t you think?”

She makes a good point, as she often does.  Readers with a craving for adventure will no doubt love this book, but it might not be the best choice for a family read aloud if that family includes any children which double as small tornadoes.  It just might make entirely the wrong impression.

For more middle grade spotlights, reviews, interviews and giveaways, stop by Shannon Messenger’s blog, and happy MMGM!

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