Author: Chris Grabenstein
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Year: 2019
Genre: Juv Fiction
Age: Juv 10+
Page Count: 267 pages
Audio Publisher & Year: Listening Library (2019)
Audio Reader: Jesse Bernstein
Audio Length: 6 hrs & 5 mins
Rating:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is book #4 in the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series. I have also looked online & it appears as if there will be a book #5 coming out maybe later this year or next year!!!
I LOVE this series! I have loved it since I read book one. I'm very happy to see it continuing & I hope we keep getting books in this series for years to come. The stories all have the same basic principal but with a slight twist every time. We get to see our young characters grow & learn sometimes difficult lessons through a series of puzzles & games. I have to admit that even I'm stumped sometimes at the answers. I like listening to the audiobook because they are short & I also like the reader. He is the same reader for the Percy Jackson series that I just read & I also figured out he is the same reader for the Floors series by Patrick Carman, I haven't listened to those books on audio but I have read them & if you like books like those in this Library series you will really enjoy those too. I like when the audio reader is the same throughout a series, it drives me crazy when they change readers half way in.
In this particular story we get to see a different side to one of our main characters, the nemesis, Charles Chiltington. He is a jerk in the grand scheme of things but I do feel a little bit bad for him & his home life. His father especially is very difficult & hard on him. He is easily disappointed & it seems like Charles can never do what he wants & make him happy. Where in Kyle Keeley's case he has the opposite situation. His family is very supportive of this involvement in the library & even when he gets in trouble at school & ends up grounded they know that he needs to help his team win no matter what. In this story we also get to see more of Kyle's friends weaknesses in the different fiction sections but they work together as a team & it makes them stronger. I think the whole dynamic of Kyle's team plays to their strengths ultimately, everyone brings something different to the table that they couldn't accomplish alone. That concept is a great one for a juvenile book because that's something kids need to learn for themselves to really grow as people.
At the end of each Lemoncello book there is a little note about a hidden puzzle within the books. If you solve it you are supposed to write to the author. I have personally never been able to find the hidden puzzles much less figure them out. But for example in this book & I think in the others if you do solve it there's a chance you'll get written into the story as a character which is super cool! There's also a list of books in each one that has all the books that were referenced to in the story in case you are interested in those, I like seeing that after hearing Mr. Lemoncello's book puns.
I have also read/listened to 2 other books by this author that I would also recommend, The Island of Dr. Libris, & the first book in the Welcome to Wonderland series called Home Sweet Motel. I plan on reading/listening to the other books in that series as well.
