Author: Chris Grabenstein
Genre: Fiction ; Middle Grade ; Mystery ; Adventure ; Science fiction
Publication: January 5, 2016 by Random House Books for Young Readers
Pages: 288
Format Read In: Audiobook
Summary from Goodreads (GOODREADS LINK)
Welcome, boys and girls, readers of all ages, to the first-ever Library Olympiad! Kyle and his teammates are back, and the world-famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, is at it again!
This time Mr. Lemoncello has invited teams from all across America to compete in the first ever LIBRARY OLYMPICS. Will it be fun? Like the commercials say. . . HELLO? It’s a Lemoncello! But something suspicious is going on . . . books are missing from Mr. Lemoncello’s library. Is someone trying to CENSOR what the kids are reading?! In between figuring out mind-boggling challenges, the kids will have to band together to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Now it’s not just a game—can Mr. Lemoncello find the real defenders of books and champions of libraries?
My Review:
I absolutely loved the first Lemoncello book and have been meaning to pick up the series again! I wish the covers weren’t so hard to look at.
What I Liked
- I felt so many emotions during my listening of the audiobook! I felt like a kid again, watching other kids enjoy the library while also loving to learn about different things with the mix of literary and technology. I really wish Lemoncello’s library actually existed!
- This book was written awhile ago but it could have been written today, honestly, with it’s depiction of pearl-clutching conservative people (particularly helicopter moms) wanting to run the local library and control what everyone’s kid does and doesn’t get to read. It really makes your heart sink to see how little has changed.
- I really liked how each kid brought something to the table and were able to work together!
- I also forgot how weird and hilarious Lemoncello is as an eccentric adult with a clear passion for reading and wanting kids to love reading. He makes me wish we had billionaires who actually cared about education and reading comprehension for kids.
What I Didn’t Like
- There’s not a whole lot I didn’t like about this book! Maybe at times I wish they were harsher with the adults trying to ban books but this is an MG book so I shouldn’t really expect anything extreme.
Conclusion
Another winner! I can already tell this whole series will be wonderful fun for me to consume!
My Rating: Showering
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