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thebookishlibrarian's review
Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.
A year has passed since Lenora worked in the Library which houses every book ever known. The Library is now under new management, and Lenora is skeptical. She quickly learns her new mission to help a secret resistance free knowledge. In this adventure, she discovers an ancient city and mathematical beings as she tries to free the Library from the Board that is pulling the Library in the wrong direction.
A year has passed since Lenora worked in the Library which houses every book ever known. The Library is now under new management, and Lenora is skeptical. She quickly learns her new mission to help a secret resistance free knowledge. In this adventure, she discovers an ancient city and mathematical beings as she tries to free the Library from the Board that is pulling the Library in the wrong direction.
jjjohnsonauthor's review against another edition
5.0
Love this book!!! Like the first one, it’s super smart and super fun. Great for young readers, or a great read-aloud.
phyrre's review against another edition
2.0
You can read my full review on my blog, The Bookwyrm's Den, here
Many thanks to Edelweiss and Sourcebooks for Young Readers for a review copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I confess that when I read the first book, The Library of Ever, I didn’t love it. I was pretty lukewarm on it, but still gave it three stars because the ending seemed to have promise for the series, and it did feature a lot of things I think it’s important for kids to see in books. This one, though? I felt like it took a wrong turn somewhere.
Rebel in the Library of Ever is a book about books, in which the main setting is a library, the heroes are pre-teen children, and there’s a focus on learning and STEM.
While I can definitely appreciate what this book is trying to do, I think it fell a bit short of its goal. There were so many subplots that it was hard to keep track of the actual plot, and the story felt very episodic, without anything really tying the mini episodes together.
My Thoughts:
- I can’t completely tell who the target audience for this is. The simplistic writing makes me think it’s younger MG, but at the same time, there are a lot of big words, and the writing is oddly formal, in a way that seems like it would turn off younger MG readers. I noticed this over and over again, where instead of taking the path of least resistance as far as simple wording, the sentences get a little convoluted. Combine that with clunky dialogue that sounds nothing like any 12-year-old (ish?) that I’ve met, and add to that the fact that, for some reason, the prose doesn’t use any contractions, and this contemporary (or maybe slightly futuristic) book sounds a bit stuffy.
- There’s a new character introduced, Lucy, and she was quite a lot of fun. Unlike Lenora, she isn’t the bookish sort. She doesn’t read very often (or at all, really), and she doesn’t see the merits of the library. I thought her addition was great! While it’s nice to see the library from Lenora’s perspective, it’s not quite the same as seeing someone discover the wonders of it for the first time, so it presented an interesting new dynamic, I thought.
- Like the first book, this one felt extremely episodic, to the point where it was hard to find the plot between all the subplots. The subplots are cute as far as teaching kids random facts … but it’s just that: random facts. The book opens with the entirely realistic situation of a boy and his mother asking the librarian what the largest number is, because the boy doesn’t think his mother’s answer of infinity is right. Which … there are soooo many debates that could be had around this, especially considering the answer that Lenora decides is “right” instead of infinity. My point is, given the contemporary nature of this book, it’d be nice to come up with an actual question a librarian might be asked that’s hard to google. Unfortunately, since this specific question was the main focus Lenora had for quite a while, this meant suffering through several chapters of math concepts, and if you learn anything at all about me, it’s that I hate math. This would be great for kids who like math, but again … who’s the target here? The writing sounds like it’s meant for younger MG readers, and I’m not sure they’re going to be able to wrap their minds around a googol (a one with a hundred zeroes) or TREE(3). Or I’m not sure they’re going to care. The first book, I felt, had some fun random facts, at least, but this one’s focus on math just completely lost me.
- The Big Bad for this book is a combination of the new director of the library and the board of directors, and as someone who works in a library, that’s a bit disappointing. I’ll tell you right now: my director is fabulous. The library probably wouldn’t exist without her continually fighting for it. Same for our board of directors, who are always in and out of the library and have fought hard for it. So to have a book set in a library, espousing the wonders and magic of libraries, but then to make the director and board of directors the Big Bad was really disappointing to me. That’s definitely not the message I want to send to kids.
Many thanks to Edelweiss and Sourcebooks for Young Readers for a review copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I confess that when I read the first book, The Library of Ever, I didn’t love it. I was pretty lukewarm on it, but still gave it three stars because the ending seemed to have promise for the series, and it did feature a lot of things I think it’s important for kids to see in books. This one, though? I felt like it took a wrong turn somewhere.
Rebel in the Library of Ever is a book about books, in which the main setting is a library, the heroes are pre-teen children, and there’s a focus on learning and STEM.
While I can definitely appreciate what this book is trying to do, I think it fell a bit short of its goal. There were so many subplots that it was hard to keep track of the actual plot, and the story felt very episodic, without anything really tying the mini episodes together.
My Thoughts:
- I can’t completely tell who the target audience for this is. The simplistic writing makes me think it’s younger MG, but at the same time, there are a lot of big words, and the writing is oddly formal, in a way that seems like it would turn off younger MG readers. I noticed this over and over again, where instead of taking the path of least resistance as far as simple wording, the sentences get a little convoluted. Combine that with clunky dialogue that sounds nothing like any 12-year-old (ish?) that I’ve met, and add to that the fact that, for some reason, the prose doesn’t use any contractions, and this contemporary (or maybe slightly futuristic) book sounds a bit stuffy.
- There’s a new character introduced, Lucy, and she was quite a lot of fun. Unlike Lenora, she isn’t the bookish sort. She doesn’t read very often (or at all, really), and she doesn’t see the merits of the library. I thought her addition was great! While it’s nice to see the library from Lenora’s perspective, it’s not quite the same as seeing someone discover the wonders of it for the first time, so it presented an interesting new dynamic, I thought.
- Like the first book, this one felt extremely episodic, to the point where it was hard to find the plot between all the subplots. The subplots are cute as far as teaching kids random facts … but it’s just that: random facts. The book opens with the entirely realistic situation of a boy and his mother asking the librarian what the largest number is, because the boy doesn’t think his mother’s answer of infinity is right. Which … there are soooo many debates that could be had around this, especially considering the answer that Lenora decides is “right” instead of infinity. My point is, given the contemporary nature of this book, it’d be nice to come up with an actual question a librarian might be asked that’s hard to google. Unfortunately, since this specific question was the main focus Lenora had for quite a while, this meant suffering through several chapters of math concepts, and if you learn anything at all about me, it’s that I hate math. This would be great for kids who like math, but again … who’s the target here? The writing sounds like it’s meant for younger MG readers, and I’m not sure they’re going to be able to wrap their minds around a googol (a one with a hundred zeroes) or TREE(3). Or I’m not sure they’re going to care. The first book, I felt, had some fun random facts, at least, but this one’s focus on math just completely lost me.
- The Big Bad for this book is a combination of the new director of the library and the board of directors, and as someone who works in a library, that’s a bit disappointing. I’ll tell you right now: my director is fabulous. The library probably wouldn’t exist without her continually fighting for it. Same for our board of directors, who are always in and out of the library and have fought hard for it. So to have a book set in a library, espousing the wonders and magic of libraries, but then to make the director and board of directors the Big Bad was really disappointing to me. That’s definitely not the message I want to send to kids.
the_fabric_of_words's review against another edition
5.0
These are two super-short, fun, lower science-fantasy middle grade reads perfect for rounding out your summer reading!
Book 2: Rebel in the Library of Ever. After completing her mission, attaining the title of Librarian, and exiting the library in the first book, Lenora spends what feels like ages looking for the portal at the IRL library again, but it just never seems to appear. Then one day she spies a crying librarian carrying a box of her things out of the library. She's been sacked, she has nothing else to lose, and she lets Lenora in.
The Forces of Darkness have clearly been at work, all this time, and they're putting in overtime.
Malachi's been demoted, but at least she's still there, hanging on. Most of the other librarians are gone. The books are gone from the shelves. The light is shrouded in darkness. Constantly broadcasting screens proclaim the library Director has "turned the library around" for the "better," of course, and it's "turning a profit" for the first time. (shudder)
Lenora meets the Director's young daughter, who fiercely believes her Daddy is an excellent library Director, but she's bored senseless with nothing to do in the empty, dark rooms and hallways. Lenora drags her along as she susses out what's happened to the Library, finds a safe space where the Forces won't follow and the remaining rebellious librarians can meet and strategize, and finally takes on the three worst forces of Ignorance.
This was a fun romp and conclusion to the first book, and a great way to end your summer reading. Enjoy!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
Book 2: Rebel in the Library of Ever. After completing her mission, attaining the title of Librarian, and exiting the library in the first book, Lenora spends what feels like ages looking for the portal at the IRL library again, but it just never seems to appear. Then one day she spies a crying librarian carrying a box of her things out of the library. She's been sacked, she has nothing else to lose, and she lets Lenora in.
The Forces of Darkness have clearly been at work, all this time, and they're putting in overtime.
Malachi's been demoted, but at least she's still there, hanging on. Most of the other librarians are gone. The books are gone from the shelves. The light is shrouded in darkness. Constantly broadcasting screens proclaim the library Director has "turned the library around" for the "better," of course, and it's "turning a profit" for the first time. (shudder)
Lenora meets the Director's young daughter, who fiercely believes her Daddy is an excellent library Director, but she's bored senseless with nothing to do in the empty, dark rooms and hallways. Lenora drags her along as she susses out what's happened to the Library, finds a safe space where the Forces won't follow and the remaining rebellious librarians can meet and strategize, and finally takes on the three worst forces of Ignorance.
This was a fun romp and conclusion to the first book, and a great way to end your summer reading. Enjoy!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
briarrose1021's review against another edition
5.0
It is now a year later. In the past year, Lenora has been going to the library every day, hoping to find the door which leads to the other library. But so far, she has been unsuccessful. Today, however, Lenora is trying to help a young library patron find the answer to his question (what is the largest number?) when she finds herself back in the Library of Ever. Though she is excited to be back, Lenora immediately notices that something is wrong.
When she finds the Chief Answerer, whose position is now Assistant Answerer, for reasons unknown, Malachi gives her an assignment - go help the young patron in the Philosophy room. When Lenora gets there, she finds that young patron and begins piecing together the puzzle of what is wrong with the Library. But, will she be able to save the library, or will the forces of darkness win?
This was another fun adventure, complete with various lessons on very large numbers. Accompanying Lenora on her adventure this time is Lucy, who is delighted to be learning so many things but is also becoming increasingly concerned about the other beings in the library. For a new character, Lucy's personality was well-developed, and I enjoyed her addition to the book. If there are more books in the series, I hope to see Lucy again.
Emily Lawrence's performance was very enjoyable, just as in the first book. I do hope the author writes more books about Lenora's adventures in the Library of Ever. And there are surely more stories to be written, for I seriously doubt that the forces of darkness are giving up just yet.
When she finds the Chief Answerer, whose position is now Assistant Answerer, for reasons unknown, Malachi gives her an assignment - go help the young patron in the Philosophy room. When Lenora gets there, she finds that young patron and begins piecing together the puzzle of what is wrong with the Library. But, will she be able to save the library, or will the forces of darkness win?
This was another fun adventure, complete with various lessons on very large numbers. Accompanying Lenora on her adventure this time is Lucy, who is delighted to be learning so many things but is also becoming increasingly concerned about the other beings in the library. For a new character, Lucy's personality was well-developed, and I enjoyed her addition to the book. If there are more books in the series, I hope to see Lucy again.
Emily Lawrence's performance was very enjoyable, just as in the first book. I do hope the author writes more books about Lenora's adventures in the Library of Ever. And there are surely more stories to be written, for I seriously doubt that the forces of darkness are giving up just yet.
azajacks's review against another edition
3.0
I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you: http://www.indiebound.org
kat1137's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nbreezy17's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0