Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race

Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race by Chris Grabenstein, 279 pages

In this newest adventure about Mr. Lemoncello, he has devised a new fact finding game for his trustees.  While the kids run around the country looking for the fun facts, trying to win the game, someone is planting evidence to try and discredit Mr. Lemoncello and steal his newest game idea.  Unless Kyle and his friends can prove Mr. Lemoncello’s innocence he may lose his library, and worse, his reputation.  I don’t know how Grabenstein can make each Lemoncello book better than the last, but he does.  I loved the latest book and hope that more are on the way.  Kids who like humor and adventure, not to mention mysteries and puzzles, will love this book and the others in the series.

The Parker Inheritance

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson, 331 pages

“Twelve-year-old Candice Miller is spending the summer in Lambert, South Carolina, in the old house that belonged to her grandmother, who died after being dismissed as city manager for having the city tennis courts dug up looking for buried treasure--but when she finds the letter that sent her grandmother on the treasure hunt, she finds herself caught up in the mystery and, with the help of her new friend and fellow book-worm, Brandon, she sets out to find the inheritance, exonerate her grandmother, and expose an injustice once committed against an African American family in Lambert.”  This was a great story.  Kids who like realistic fiction, mysteries, or puzzles, will love it.

The Return

The Return by Ridley Pearson, 344 pages

“With the defeat of the Overtakers behind them, the five teenagers known as the Kingdom Keepers should be celebrating. By all accounts they saved Disneyland from certain destruction. Why, then, did their mentor leave one last puzzle for them to decipher? The Keepers must solve a puzzle of the past, or be crushed under an evil that makes the Overtakers seem like gentle souls.” I liked the beginning of this new series.  Fans of the previous Kingdom Keepers series will definitely want to read this, as will teen fans of Disney and science fiction.

Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics

Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein, 278 pages

This book is a sequel to Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, which was a great book.  I wouldn't have thought it possible, but the sequel is at least as good as the first book.  In this story, many kids throughout the country are angry that they didn't have a chance to play in the first set of library games so Mr. Lemoncello has begun a new competition and teams of middle schoolers will have the chance to compete in the Library Olympics.  The winners will get a free ride to the college of their choice.  Kyle and his friends are excited to have a chance to compete again but Kyle is nervous about what will happen if they lose.  This book is full of fun puzzles and plenty of action.  I would highly recommend it to almost any kid who enjoys reading at all.

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein, 291 pages

After more than a decade with no library in town, the new library is planning its grand opening.  Kyle, along with eleven other kids in his grade have won the chance to have a lock-in at the new library and get a preview before the actual opening.  Kyle is excited because the man who paid for this library, Mr. Lemoncello, is a huge gaming mogul.  He is the creator of almost all of Kyle's favorite games.  The kids have a lot of fun at the lock-in but find out the next day that the real game has just started.  They have 24 hours to find a way out of the library.  The first person to succeed will win a fantastic prize.  Then the real fun begins.  This is a fun book with several puzzle games that the readers can figure out along with the characters.  I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to any kids who like realistic fiction or figuring out puzzles and mysteries.

Ready Player One

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, 374 pages

When James Halliday, creator of the OASIS, the endless virtual world ever created, dies, he announces to the world that he has left an Easter Egg somewhere in OASIS and the first person to find it inherits pretty much everything he has, including ownership of OASIS itself.  Millions of people, who call themselves gunters, start looking, including a corporation called IOI, which controls most of the Internet access in the world.  IOI, whose hunters are called SIxers, wants to change the OASIS and most of the world agrees that the changes they want to make don’t fall in line with Halliday’s vision.  Many years go by without anyone having any luck and until a teen named Wade uncovers the first key and clears the First Gate.  Soon others are following, including the Sixers, who plan to kill not only Wade’s avatar in the game, but Wade himself if he refuses to cooperate with them.  This is one of the best books I’ve read, ever.  I would give this to anyone that likes any type of fantasy or science fiction.  In fact it will probably become the first book I would tell people about.  I completely loved it.