Review: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein.

Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: June 2013
List Price: $15.99
ISBN-13: 9780375870897

Review: You will be given the chance to play a brand-new game, Mr. Lemoncello said. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is a fun-filled book written by Chris Grabenstein. Kyle Keeley, Mr. Lemoncello, and Kyle's friend, Akimi, are all the main characters in the story. This book is a puzzler for everyone.

You may think that Kyle is just spending his weekend in a library with his friends, playing a brand-new game. Well, you're wrong. When Mr. Lemoncello tells the kids that they will be competing against each other to be on all of his toy commercials, the whole weekend gets turned around. Kyle and his friends must find clues in the library to help them escape, but, of course, there has to be someone in the way of Kyle winning the prize. Charles Chilington gets in Kyle's way during the whole competition. Kyle fights for the chance to be in Mr. Lemoncello's commercials. Will Charles Chilington beat Kyle and his teammates before noon?

Chris Grabenstein's book is a fun puzzler for any gender because in the story, it never is too boyish even though the main character is a boy. The book doesn't talk about any girly things in particular. Girls might want to read this book too, since there is no violence either. Grabenstein's clues in the story always leave a cliffhanger for you and the characters. You never know what will end up happening. The author made Kyle to be a character that will never give up. Based on how the story goes, it makes you hunger to know what happens next. I think this story would be a good choice for kids from fourth to sixth grade because it has some difficult vocabulary that younger kids might not understand. For instance, it says in the story, "Éparticular periodical." Those words may be hard for kids under the age of nine or ten. Grabenstein leaves you with so many cliffhangers in the story; it's hard to put the book down. This book always forced me to keep going, so I can find out what happens next. Also, Grabenstein describes Kyle's challenges and frustrations so well, the reader could empathize and feel how Kyle feels. On the other hand, some readers might get bored at certain points in the story, perhaps when there is a lull in the action. The theme of the story is illustrated by Kyle and his friends who show that it's not about winning, it's about having fun. All in all, I think Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library deserves an A+ for its descriptive writing.

Review written by Jessica (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library for this review.

Have you read Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library? How would you rate it?