I had great hopes for this book, given the concept. Unfortunately, there was a lot of plot, but no joy of discovery and no character development. The author practiced much telling, but little showing.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

I am reviewing this as an elementary teacher and not as an adult reader. I have students who would absolutely love this book, though my students are younger than the middle school age recommended. There wasn't anything in regards to vocabulary, sentence structure, or content that would be beyond my end-of-the-year fourth graders.

As an adult, this was a quick read with constant, silly, action. It reminded me in that way of books like The Phantom Tollbooth. Leonora is bored. She's three times bored. She wants to read and learn instead of following her nanny on shopping trips while her parents vacation without her. She enters the library beyond the library and is pulled into travel through time and space.

The Library of Ever was cute, but after reading through all of the glowing four and five-star reviews, I'm beginning to think that I was not the target audience for this book. (But I'm okay with that!) With a colorful, eye-catching cover and the word "library" in its title, I was pretty much always going to check out the summary, but reading that it was "an adventure across time and space as a young girl becomes a warrior for the forces of knowledge"? UM YES PLEASE.

At almost 200 pages (of kid-lit sized paper and font), it took me just over an hour to finish—but perhaps that was part of the problem. I approach one-sitting reads much differently than ones which take multiple sessions, and I'm also not used to the pace of kid-lit. A lot of the fiction I read is character driven and, although stuff happens, what I find most interesting is how the characters react to or are changed by those events. Zeno Alexander doesn't even give his main character Lenora a last name. We know that she's being babysat by someone she doesn't particularly like and that she's annoyed at being told to wait in the car while her babysitter runs into the library, but that's pretty much it. Her curiosity immediately kick-starts the plot and then the book basically doesn't stop moving.

For me, this kind of frenetic pace was exhausting. I was in that place while reading where I was really tired but knew that if I just powered through, I could finish––but you can't read this book and only half pay attention. Alexander so perfectly weaves each chapter with the next that if you're not careful, you become lost in the maze he's created. But for others? This kind of story probably feels exciting. Whether Lenora's adventures are "real" isn't the point: it's the confidence she gains, the lessons she learns, the cool and noteworthy facts she uncovers.

Alexander wants his readers to fall in love with books and reading the same way Lenora does, and it saddens me that I wasn't as wowed by The Library of Ever as other readers. Maybe I've let the Forces of Darkness in and lost my kid at heart.

This is a very fun magical mystery about Lenora who really wants a job (in spite of the fact that she has fabulously rich parents and a nanny who doesn't pay much attention to her. Lenora ends up working in a library (as the Fourth Assistant Apprentice) and finds the library is a pretty interesting place to work. The tasks she has to complete are funny, exciting and a little scary. I think the kids are going to like this one a lot.

Lenora’s parents are off traveling the globe and she is more than bored. Many think books can transport them to faraway lands. But for Lenora, this becomes reality. She is introduced to a maze-like realm, an alternate reality world, and a library of your dreams. One that contains all the wisdom of the universe. Throughout this epic adventure the future of the library is at state and Lenora must find the hidden secrets to save this important guardian of knowledge.

2 books in a row with Lenore as the main character's name...
Lenore knows the summer will be boring - especially when she has to tag a long with her nanny. But when her nanny takes her to the library Lenore goes on a grand adventure through time and space.
This had a quirky, fun, light feel - glimpses of Narnia or Phantom Tollbooth. I enjoyed this light fantasy.

Lenora’s parents are traveling when, her nanny takes her to the local library. It is there she gets transported to the Library of Ever, and lands her first job as Fourth Assistant Apprentice Librarian. A job she does not take lightly, and solemnly swears to follow the librarian’s oath for: to work hard, to venture forth bravely and find the answer to any question no matter the challenge; to find a path for those who are lost, and to improvise and think on her feet and rely on her wits and valor; to oppose the enemies of knowledge with all her courage and strength, wherever they might be found.

‘Knowledge is a Light’ are the words above the archway Lenora enters through, and as she goes on one adventure after another answering her patron’s questions, or leading home the lost, she seeks to find the meaning of this phrase. Lenora travels from Wales to Iraq, from Mt. Everest to Mt. Chimborazo, and from the year 1582 to the year 8000.

Alexander has written a charming pro-library tale for bibliophiles of all ages, filled with knowledge, time-travel, robots, talking animals, excitement, and a courageous young girl. I absolutely enjoyed this novel, aimed for 9-12 year olds, and will regularly recommend it to my tween-aged patrons looking for their next great read.

On a short trip to the library with her disliked nanny on an otherwise boring day, Lenora stumbles into a magical, otherworldly library that makes Borges' Library of Babel look puny. To her delight, Lenora is assigned a position and gets to work...time traveling, traversing a huge globe, helping build a spaceship, and battling the Forces of Darkness who want to shut down the library.

The fast-paced story is filled with wonderfully imaginative adventures, and Lenora's quick wits in answering reference questions (no need for Google!) make her a charming protagonist. Tidbits of information sprinkled throughout, like the role of cats in the Battle of Pelusium, may have children curious to use their library and learn even more. A good selection for fans of the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series.

This book sounds so interesting and I always love a good middle grade story. However, I didn’t care for the over explaining of things that didn’t need to be explained like “the reason she knew it was a throne room was because it had a throne in it”. It makes it read younger than it is. More like a chapter book than a middle grade book.

The beginning was a drag and as we raced towards the end, I sensed -- To Be Continued!

Why was the beginning a drag? Because Lenora sounded bratty and whinny and just not the main character that I was going to like. The beginning Lenora was completely different than the Lenora that gets caught up in the library. It felt as if the beginning and end Lenora (let's call her Violet Beauregarde) is a totally different character than Librarian in Training Lenora.

Boo. I really just want Librarian in Training Lenora all the time.

Once Librarian in Training Lenora shows up, that's when the book becomes enjoyable. She's like an Alice in Wonderland encountering odd characters and situations that she must champion and master in order to move to the next adventure. She was interesting, brave and polite. Hurrah!

As for the end, I didn't think it ended as neatly as it could've. Again, the end and beginning felt slapped on and different than the rest of the story, as if, the author didn't know how to do a proper end to Book #1 to set up for Book #2. Disappointed with the wrap up but the interstitial adventures were very fun.

Lenora enters the library, discovers an arch that proclaims "Knowledge Is Light." She cautiously proceeds past this landmark and embarks on many adventures as a librarian. In addition to time-travelling with a robot, Lenora has the opportunity to help penguins, ants and a lost kitten. As she completes each task, her badge adjusts her rank and states her accomplishments. While working to solve problems and impart knowledge, she is aware of a dark force embodied by men dressed in black and wearing bowlers. They are a nameless menace to the libraries mission. All in all, an exciting adventure tale with magical properties. Unlike books like the Chronicles of Narnia and the Wrinkle in Time series, the opponent is not clearly characterized. This book will appeal to younger readers and prepare them to enjoy the above mentioned classics.

A big thank you to MacMillan and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this new release in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine being an 11 year old who’s parents are traveling throughout Europe while you experience the most boring summer of your life. Instead of partaking in fun, you are forced to follow your nanny around while she shops for herself and runs meaningless errands. So is the life of Lenora. That is until the day they visit the library. When Lenora asks her nanny to visit the children’s section and her answer is no, that doesn’t stop Lenora from sneaking off. In doing so, she becomes lost and stumbles upon a mysterious archway. Upon entering, she is hired to work at the library as the Forth Assistant Apprentice Librarian. What all does the job entail? Adventures unlike any encountered before along with protecting the Library against mysterious people in bowler hats. Just what do they want and why does Lenora keep encountering them?

I was really hoping to enjoy this story more than I did. I am a huge sucker for any and all books that include libraries and adventures. Unfortunately, I felt like the adventures Lenora went on were very random and fast paced. While the book proves to have a solid foundation and synopsis it just didn’t come together the way I was hoping for. I often had a hard time visualizing the story and felt the plot was rushed.

I did however enjoy learning interesting facts throughout the book as Lenora helped patrons with their questions.

While I am certain others will love this book, it missed the mark for my liking. Regardless of my feelings, I will still encourage my students to read it and I plan on getting a copy for my classroom library.

Really loved this book. Full of adventure and whimsy. Lenora is a fresh and spunky little protagonist and her pure heart and devotion to knowledge is so great to see. The story reflects society quite nicely, and it's a joy to watch Lenora fight back the darkness. Can't wait for the sequel.

Oh my goodness, I adored <i>The Library of Ever</i>. This book is everything a cozy middle grade book should be. I wish I could go back in time and press it into the hands of my ten-year-old self with a conspiratorial wink.

Lenora is ignored by her wealthy parents and her nanny, but this comes in useful sometimes--like at the library. She makes her escape to the children's section where she confronts a man in a bowler hat who is trying to tell a young boy that books on science are too advanced for him. After seeing the boy get to the books he wants, a fantastic archway appears in what had been a blank wall. She walks through, and finds the Library of Ever.

I envisioned her adventures in the library like a Hiyao Miyazaki anime. Everything is fantastical and weird, yet within this world, absolutely believable. Lenora is quickly dubbed a library worker of low rank, bestowed a badge and everything, and happily goes to work. As she helps patrons--jumping ahead in time to resolve a calendar issue, wandering a massive globe and befriending whales and penguins (and finding out some purported facts about the longest town name and highest mountain aren't true)--her rank advances, as do her responsibilities.

While the book is sure fun, there's also a powerful message behind everything about the dangers of censorship and the power of knowledge. The men in bowler hats are a threatening force. As Lenora is scolded at one point, "I thought you were wise enough to understand that children must be discouraged from asking questions that will make them curious and fretful. Perhaps I overestimated you. After all, you're just a child yourself."

"Maybe," said Lenora, with equal frost. "But I'm also a librarian. And I'm not going to hide the truth from anyone."

Just typing that up again gives me chills. This book is powerful. It's charming. It's an inspiration. Plus, it's hilarious. Sure, there's a message, but it's wrapped up in whimsy and joy. This would be a great book to read aloud to a group or class. I found it to be a fast read, too; I zoomed through in about 45 minutes.

This is a delightful middle grade book suitable for anyone who loves adventure, books, or both. Lenora travels through time and space to fight against the forces of darkness with knowledge. The ending sets itself up for there to be a sequel and I sure hope it becomes a series! It's a very fast paced read that keeps you turning pages until the end. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance copy.

The Library of Ever is a well written fantasy world for book lovers of all ages. Hidden inside the pages of this book lies a story about a young girl who goes on a daring adventure to save knowledge and books as we know it. This book was a perfect escape and I am so glad I had a chance to enjoy it.

The Library of Ever was an amazing book! It is about a girl, Lenora, and her adventure around the Library of Ever. It all starts when Lenora goes to the library with her nanny. Lenora gets bored and starts to wander around the children's section. While in the children's section she bumped heads with a small boy and a librarian with a bowler hat. The man is telling the boy he can not go into the biology section because it would ruin his thoughts, and then the story really begins. Lenora finds a door to the Library of Ever, goes in it, and her librarian adventures begin. She meets Malachi, Bendigeidfran; from Starpoint Seventeen; ants, penguins, and last but not least... ghosts!

This book is a fun adventure. Most of the details were easily imaginable and makes you wonder if most libraries you can go to are like The Library of Ever (that would definitely be a cool adventure)! It was fairly fast paced and made it tough to put the book down. The one difficult thing in the book was how to pronounce some names, for example, Bendigeidfran. It might be cool to have a spot in the front or back of the book with pronunciations/phonetic spelling to help kids sound out the names, however, that really didn't hinder the appeal of the book.

Overall, the book was very very good!! The book was written with good visual descriptions and is very interesting. This book should definitely be read by anyone (all ages, really). At the very end of the story it hints that Lenora will be back and hopefully it is true. There should be more books in this series so people can continue to read about Lenora's adventures!!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author (Zeno Alexander), and publisher (Macmillan Publishers) for providing this advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lenora is BORED. Her parents are gallivanting across Europe and they've left her alone with an insufferable nanny who won't let her do ANYTHING fun or exciting...including checking out books from the local library's children's room while there on errand. Obviously this is not to be borne, and Lenora slips away at her first opportunity to explore the library. That's how she stumbles into a more, er, restricted section of the library where she meets Malachi, the head librarian. Instead of being punished, as she fears, Lenora is offered a job: Fourth Assistant Apprentice Librarian.

Lenora is more than up to the task, and quickly finds her stride. Over a series of adventures—all in the pursuit of library science—Lenora makes friends and gains knowledge, earning several promotions and honorifics along the way. But even the most amazing jobs aren't without their downsides. And for every librarian seeking to fill the world with knowledge and light, there's an evil man in a bowler hat wanting to shroud it in ignorance and darkness. Lenora's successes seem to have attracted their attention, and Lenora soon finds herself in the midst of a centuries-old battle of good and evil.

Lenora is a fun character who kids will love rooting for as she puzzles through her many questions, challenges, and adventures. The library is richly imagined and kids will love each exciting discovery therein. The frame around the story hangs a little loosely, though. Perhaps that's why I was a little disappointed when Lenora slipped back into her "normal life" as abruptly as she did. Even so, it definitely paves the way for future library adventures from our favorite apprentice librarian.

Verdict: The Library of Ever makes for a zany and often unpredictable library adventure—and who doesn't love that?

I never really connected with The Phantom Tollbooth, or The Lost Track of Time, both of which remind me of this book. Here, the protagonist escapes her nanny at the public library, and stumbles into the library of everything, where every topic has a whole room and things as well as books are used for information. She is immediately hired as a librarian, albeit a very low ranking one. Each time she succeeds at a task, her rank goes up, magically changing on her name badge even as she is wearing it.

Chances are, if you set your book in a library, librarians will buy it, and so will enthusiastic readers. Just the idea of exploring such a large and varied space would get many kids to pick up the book.

And, by the end of the book, when the action increased substantially, I really started to like Lenora and I was rooting for her. I will definitely be adding this one to my collection, and recommending it to a few kids I know.