How Do You Escape From a Library?

Knowledge not shared remains unknown. 

~Luigi L. Lemoncello

Kyle Keeley isn't interested in winning the extra credit essay contest. That is until he gets grounded from all electronics for being a little overzealous during an interactive board game he was playing with his brothers. Once Kyle is punished, getting to stay overnight in the new library sounds way more exciting, especially considering it's state of the art and their town hadn’t had a library in twelve years. Unfortunately he didn't write the essay! So now he needs to find a way to turn the essay in before the deadline. Kyle tries, but isn’t sure if he's successful. When Kyle finds out he's one of the twelve kids chosen to sleep at the library, he's ecstatic. The bonus is that his best friend is going to be there too, and she's lots of fun. The night begins with a game, and of course there are winners and losers. There's an interesting mix of people in the library, and so much to explore. This new library is beyond cool! The video games, the holograms, the books! This library has it all! The most awesome part is that it was designed by Kyle's favorite board game maker, Mr. Lemoncello. When the twelve writing contestants find out that they have a chance to play in a virtual board game for twenty-four hours throughout the library, the game is on. Not everyone decides to stay, but wait until you find out what happens to those who play. Will Kyle and the others be able to put the clues together before the time runs out? Who can you trust in this game? Is it better to play a ruthless game or to help out those around you? You'll have to read this fabulous library adventure in order to find out!

When I read Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein I didn't know exactly what to expect, besides the fact that I’d be reading about one of my favorite places in the world, the library. I liked the gaming aspect of this book, and I think it will appeal to a lot of kids. I also think Kyle would be a lot of fun to be friends with because he's kind and helpful, but he's also really good at board games and puzzles. As a matter of fact, all of the contestants, except for a few, are people that I'd really like to hang out with. It was also cool that this book brought up other stories and books I'd like to read or ones that I've read, and coming across their titles made me smile. The story also included many details about libraries for those people that may not know how the nonfiction section works or some of the other parts of the library. One thing is certain, the library described in this book is out of this world, and I would love to visit one with all the fancy holograms and interactive aspects. Definitely a library of the future- books and technology in all their glory! I know this will be a book that kids in fourth grade and up will get into (and people of any age who love books), and I look forward to reading more stories by this author.

Has anyone else read Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library? Or have you read another book by Chris Grabenstein? We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
~L