BOTM for March - Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

[M.G.]

It was close this month! Our selection won by one vote.

A New York Times Bestseller

In this cross between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and A Night in the Museum, Agatha Award winner Chris Grabenstein uses rib-tickling humor to create the perfect tale for his quirky characters.

Kyle Keeley is the class clown and a huge fan of all games—board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the construction of the new town library. Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot as one of twelve kids invited for an overnight sleepover in the library, hosted by Mr. Lemoncello and riddled with lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must solve every clue and figure out every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route!

[Ruth]

This book and The Westing Game are so similar. I am not sure which I like better, though.... Probably Westing Game, but both are so fun!

Another book in this style is "Floors." My son (11 at the time) really enjoyed that.

[M.G.]

Just finished this and didn't enjoy it as much as I'd expected. The characters were flat and unconvincing. So much of the story felt like a dialogue between talking heads as the characters tried to figure out a constantly shifting landscape of games and books -- it was hard to feel grounded in the story. Would love to hear what others think, because it did get good reviews --

[Rebecca]

LOL--Beth, clearly you need another e-reader! We have gradually expanded to one per family member :D

[Cheryl]

I gave it three stars last year. From my review:

I devoured it in one afternoon. I don't know if it will actually be effective in turning apathetic kids onto libraries (after all, their library is not as cool as this one), but for someone like me who wants to live in a library, this was fun.

It was frustrating to read this as an adult and see the kids saying 'cool' all the time - don't they have their own slang? And this didn't have the heart and depth that it could have - when I saw that the author had TV credits I was not surprised.

[Justine]

I voted for this book as I thought it was quite a novel plot/story. Without a doubt,this book is not as page turning as The Westing Game. I've not finished it yet, but so far, I've found it light reading, no burning need to pick it up to read, and quite easy to put down when there are other pressing things to do. But when I do pick it up, it's good enough to enjoy for chilling out, perhaps especially so because I've just finished a heavy-going historical fiction book.

[Rebecca]

Finally picked up my copy.

[Rebecca]

Cheryl, that slang issue does seem to be a problem. I suspect that to avoid sounding dopey and out-of-date in a hurry, it's best to avoid too much of that sort of thing. And if you are trying to make it really hip and up-to-date, well, good luck keeping up with the kids' slang!

[Dixie]

I ordered a used paperback and it came in the mail awhile ago but I keep reading other things. I was hoping this thread would inspire me, but it isn't exactly inspiring this month.

[Rebecca]

I feel the same way, Dixie! I got the ebook from the library, and I'll take a look this weekend. But I fear that unless it grips me in the first few pages, I'll move on to other reading priorities.

On the other hand, I tweaked a knee and need to hang around with my leg elevated, so I'll have lots of time for reading. It is awkward to write for long in that position.

[Dixie]

I hope your knee heals quickly. My husband tweeted his Feb 12 and was flying choir kids to Spokane the next day. Several Drs visits later he is still limping and in pain

[Brenda]

I read both of these last summer and they are similar in some ways. The Westing Game struck me as a middle grade puzzle murder mystery, I kept thinking about Clue when reading it. What with "One tenant was a bookie, one was a burglar, one was a bomber, and one was a mistake." Figuring out who was who was half the fun. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library was more of a Indoor-Outdoor Scavenger Hunt that moves into a library game. I enjoyed the ode's to the Dewey decimal system, literary references and quotes like "an open book is an open mind." A newer book that's very similar to both and is coming in June is

[Cheryl]

I'm a sucker for books about books, and books about libraries, so I'm adding that new book to my list right now.

[Brenda]

Cheryl wrote: "I'm a sucker for books about books, and books about libraries, so I'm adding that new book to my list right now."

I love that the author includes a note at the end with all the references, such fun.

[Julie]

I am also yet to finish this one. I was initially excited to read it, but I found it very dry, with unconvincing characters including a cringe worthy Mr Lemoncello. I have a couple of kid friend readers, about aged 12 that loved it, so it seems all the references of past TV shoes didn't seem to bother them. They did bother me however, as I kept thinking all the way along, why would a kid find this interesting. I suspect this is a bestseller due to the nostalgic librarians reading it, not the kids. LOL, I will probably get a smack for saying that....

[Rebecca]

I've read the first several chapters, and it's engaging enough so far. Though the MC's obsession with video games, while realistic, is irksome to me :)

[Julia]

I read Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library about a year ago and have been reading the comments here with interest. No one here seems to like the book that much, and I can see why. Kyle, the main character, lacks a strong or particularly unique voice. Also, you have all already read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Westing Game so the setting and plot seem derivative to you (because they are). But I think it's worth pointing out that this book has been a fantastic seller. It was on the NYT bestseller list for middle grade children's fiction throughout 2013 and 2014, so clearly someone is buying it and loving it. I noticed today that it was for sale at my daughter's school book fair (and not on the bargain rack either!)

I think what accounts for this is that the book is written to engage children, and it works for children. Kind of like Candyland works for kids, forcing multiple generations of bored parents to grit their teeth through one more round at the insistence of their offspring. The genius of the story is that the reader is just as engaged in working out the clues to the mystery as Kyle is. If they are even a little bit familiar with popular children's fiction, they will be able to speculate about what the clues mean right along with Kyle and his team. So the reader gets to play the game too.

I think adults are also likely to see a plausibility problem with the plot that kids are totally willing to ignore. Adults read the parameters of the plot and they see a whole bunch of unsupervised kids left to their own devices overnight in a library. Adults think...unsafe! Inappropriate! Liability issues! And so they write it off as too preposterous to bother with. Kids just think...awesome!

Another factor working in the book's favor is that, even though the main character is a boy, the appeal of the book spans evenly between boys and girls. That's more and more unusual these days, which I think is a problem. Goodness knows we don't need to widen that divide any more than it already is.

[Dixie]

Very good points, Julia

And since we have spring break next week I think I will finally take the time to read it

[Rebecca]

I'm certainly not giving up on it! And I will be reading with an eye to why it works so well for the kids. Or whoever is buying it :)

[Dixie]

I started it this afternoon, and it isn't bad actually, I think the short chapters induced me to read longer than I meant, oh this is short just one more, to twelve.

[Rebecca]

Yeah, I was having the same experience, Dixie! That kind of thing can keep me up later than I intend.

[M.G.]

Julia wrote: "I read Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library about a year ago and have been reading the comments here with interest. No one here seems to like the book that much, and I can see why...."

Julia, Love your comments here, and I'm sure you are right. Usually love puzzle-solving mysteries (like Benedict Society), but maybe I rushed through this one. Will definitely pass this on to my son to see what he thinks.

[Dixie]

I finished it, and while it wasn't bad, it also doesn't seem like one I will remember having read for very long. There are no characters who I really felt connected to,

I was just discussing a book I read about when I was 12, and a friend commented about how involved you felt in those characters lives ( Johnny tremain) and it made me realize that, this is what this book is lacking for me. The library sounds fun in a holo deck sort of way, but I don't care about any of the people.

I can see the appeal to kids though, who can imagine themselves into the story. Being 12 and getting special rewards and adventures because you are. Is pretty much the opposite of real life where twelve is too old to be a child and too young to be a teen, and just kind of overlooked.

[Rebecca]

Also finished, and I think I agree with Dixie. I realized early on that I sympathized equally with many characters, and found the predictable happened. Stereotypical characters, but a situation that 12-year-olds would find tons of fun. I think I know which would matter more to most kids! The best thing for the adults was all the references to books in Lemoncello's speeches.

Not sure I buy Kyle's about-face regarding books and reading.

[Cheryl]

Unless he was in denial of his true interests until this adventure... but that's just a wild guess, not supported by text.

[Rebecca]

Cheryl wrote: "Unless he was in denial of his true interests until this adventure... but that's just a wild guess, not supported by text."

Yeah. I'm guessing that the video games will win in the end. My boys are good readers, but given the choice...

[Cheryl]

Exactly. My youngest son is the same way.

[Dixie]

My husband is the same way! We used to read a lot of books together, now I read while he plays world of Warcraft or Civ. Fortunately we still both like the same outdoor activities

[Cheryl]

:sigh:
yeah, w/ my husband it's now podcasts over books...
Balance, guys!

[Rebecca]

My man has gotten lost between reading on the Internet--NY Times, climate change blogs (at least partly for his work) and watching TV shows on line. I will have to drag him out into the woods to get him to read a novel again, I fear.

[Cheryl]

I've heard that men, as a very loose generalization, do tend to prefer non-fiction. I wonder if that's true-ish of boys, too... like the kids in this BotM....

[Dixie]

Mind, when he does read, is into things like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, dune, Ender's game. He likes a series with magic and other worldliness.

[Laurence]

Hello, I don't want to interrupt the conversation however if looking for books for boys try the Metatron Series. Just a suggestion...

[Rebecca]

My boys were totally into non-fiction as younger kids, and even now, as near-adults, will be just as likely to read non-fiction as fiction (they just plowed through the new book on Ghengis Khan...). I have to discipline myself a bit to read non-fiction, though I do like history and the sort of literary natural history type things (there's a name for that, which in my advancing age I cannot at the moment recall...).

[Dixie]

One of my boys liked a series by a game warden, about his real life, and the Gary Paulson (Hatchet author) non fiction, and the CJ Box books

The other was totally into Star Wars novels, Harry Dresden the wizard, and Harry Potter, until he found the great Books and suddenly was reading all the great thinkers

[Cheryl]

And that's the 'trick' we can all use, isn't it? We don't have to open a new library and make a huge special event/ contest for the kids, we just need to respect that they each have their own interests.... :)

I want to know more about literary natural history type things please, Rebecca.... sounds like it's right up my alley....

[Rebecca]

Cheryl, visit your local national park and check out the books store :D

Some of my favorite authors in the genre, not counting John Muir and Ed Abbey, are Ann Zwinger, Aldo Leopold, John McPhee (great stuff on geology, incredibly readable), and especially Craig Childs (desert SouthWest). But I read a lot of unknowns who write on some bit of local history or natural history, which I do in fact pick up in the Parks.

[Cheryl]

Ok, tx. :)

[J.S.]

Once the actual game/escape started, I enjoyed this book and wanted to see how it ended. I'm not big on books that rely a lot on current references or on farting/butt jokes even though a lot of middle-grade books take that approach.

I liked the strategy and puzzles in the book. I loved the overall message about treating others with respect and the fun of reading.

[J.S.]

Julia wrote: "I read Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library about a year ago and have been reading the comments here with interest. No one here seems to like the book that much, and I can see why...."

Normally I'm one of those adults that pick apart the safety/realistic aspect of books as I read them and think of my children in those situations--which is why I loathed the second Twilight book, but that's a discussion for a different group, :) . I didn't feel that way in this one. I felt they showed the adults/supervision often enough that I didn't feel like they were in danger. Also, the scavenger hunt kept them busy so they weren't looking for trouble (unrelated to beating the other team).

[J.S.]

I like to post my comment before I read through the rest. I agree with the lack of character development and also felt that Mr. Lemoncello was too over the top. But I guess the author was going for that and if that's the type of personality that can create a multimillion dollar game industry, then so be it.