Only Alcatraz, assisted by his grandfather Leavenworth (who always shows up late for everything) and assorted other characters, can prevent the librarians from fulfilling their dastardly plan. However, the gift is soon stolen by a group of evil librarians bent on world domination. On his 13th birthday, Alcatraz receives a strange sort of present - a bag of sand! - from his real parents.

He has spent his short life in foster homes, moving from one to another as each set of foster parents gets fed up with his clumsiness, despite his protestations that he doesn’t break things on purpose. Written for 10- to 13-year-olds, it’s the story of Alcatraz Smedry. Perhaps there are some people (even librarians) who could resist reading a book with the enticing title of Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson, but not me. Looks like a great read for those rainy days ahead!Īlcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson, Hardcover, 320 pages Filed under: books, readersadvisory, teens, YA |įrom American Libraries Direct, the e-newsletter of the American Library Association, comes this sci-fi pick from Nancy Pearl. Twice.’” Like Lemony Snicket and superhero comics rolled into one (and then revved up on steroids), this nutty novel isn’t for everyone, but it’s also sure to win passionate fans. I’m going to go read a book about a boy whose dog gets killed by his mother. Readers whose sense of humor runs toward the subversive will be instantly captivated: not only does the author poke fun at librarians, he lampoons books (including this one) in frequent passages directly addressed to readers: “You are saying to yourself, 'The story just lost me. The madcap plot can seem chaotic, with action pulling Alcatraz toward new characters at a breakneck speed, but Sanderson unexpectedly draws everything together in an extravagantly silly climax. Before long, Sanderson brings on talking dinosaurs (it’s a librarian distortion that they’re extinct), a parallel world, visiting villains and more.

As the novel opens, on his 13th birthday, he is quickly initiated into the true nature of librarians by his heretofore unmet grandfather, Leavenworth Smedry.

Alcatraz, meanwhile, is the name of the protagonist, who has been raised in a series of foster homes. They distort some facts and fabricate the rest. ) children’s debut, an over-the-top fantasy/adventure, librarians are evil because they control all the information in Hushland (America).

Alcatraz and the evil librarians