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A review by bookph1le
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein
3.0
I stuck with this one because my son is practically eating it with a spoon.
For me, it wasn't quite as fun. The book's greatest strength is the imaginative library. I absolutely loved it and wished I could crawl into the book and explore it with Sierra. I think I'd have enjoyed the book a lot more had it not focused on the game aspect and, instead, centered more around the wonders of the library itself.
I didn't think the writing was all that strong, and I found this book chock full of cliches. It was obvious to me from the start who would win because the characters are very stereotypical. This might be exactly why my son loves it, because it is predictable and reassuring. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, or that he couldn't handle something more challenging, but for me, I prefer more nuance to my writing, and there are many, many talented middle grade authors who can offer me just that. I could enjoy this book for what it was, but it was pretty disposable for me.
For me, it wasn't quite as fun. The book's greatest strength is the imaginative library. I absolutely loved it and wished I could crawl into the book and explore it with Sierra. I think I'd have enjoyed the book a lot more had it not focused on the game aspect and, instead, centered more around the wonders of the library itself.
I didn't think the writing was all that strong, and I found this book chock full of cliches. It was obvious to me from the start who would win because the characters are very stereotypical. This might be exactly why my son loves it, because it is predictable and reassuring. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, or that he couldn't handle something more challenging, but for me, I prefer more nuance to my writing, and there are many, many talented middle grade authors who can offer me just that. I could enjoy this book for what it was, but it was pretty disposable for me.