I really enjoyed this zanny book and can't wait to put it in the hands of my son. This will be right up his alley! Will definitely finish this series.

This was a re-read for me. I jumped at the chance to read this again with illustrations. I loved the story the first time around, but this made me love it that much more. The illustrated version definitely gives the book more personality and brings things to life that make the story more magical and fun.

Sometimes it is hard as an adult to read things that are written for middle grade readers, but this didn't have that feel. I felt like I was pulled into a typical Brandon Sanderson story that had me gobbling up each page, laughing and just feeling giddy throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are, as always, my own.

This was a fun read. I have seen the title for a number of years but never picked it up. As a children's librarian, I found it a clever construct and definitely one that I would recommend. As an adult reader, I felt that it got overly descriptive (telling not showing) in places, which disrupted the pace and action a bit, but I think that description would resonate well with the middle grade reader which is, after all, the intended audience. I really enjoyed the breaking of the fourth wall and the snarky asides, and think it added a tone that definitely works in this age bracket.

This was a surprising joy to read. Sanderson is a master of craft so his authorial interjections to point out different plot devices, things the reader should have been paying attention to (but likely missed), and even to note foreshadowing as it has been used was so fun. This actually helps the middle-grade reader to learn how the different concepts they are learning in the classroom actually apply to books. The story itself and the characters were very fun so I am excited to see where the rest of the series goes from here. On a side note, I am also amazed that this was originally written in 2007! The story holds up extremely well in 2022 so it should be very well received with the newly revamped covers!

Alcatraz Smedry has spent his childhood shuffled between foster homes that can't handle his knack for breaking things. But on his thirteenth birthday, everything changes when some sand he got sent in the mail is stolen and his grandpa shows up to tell him all about the evil Librarians he claims took it. With his newfound grandpa and some of his friends, Alcatraz discovers his Oculator powers and how to harness his incredibly powerful Smedry talent of breaking things. This book has a narrator reminiscent of Lemony Snicket in A Series of Unfortunate Events, who relishes in breaking the fourth wall with laugh out loud commentary. This book will resonate be a hit with middle schoolers.

13 year old Alcatraz moved from foster home to foster home all his life. His talent for constantly breaking items dear to his foster parents might've been a contributing factor. His life is otherwise normal though, until his thirteenth birthday, when he receives an odd birthday present in the mail, setting off an even stranger series of events.

It's obvious from the first page that this book seeks to be wacky. It's fun, humorous, and self-deprecating. I felt that the wackiness would be better appreciated by younger readers, the book's intended audience. But at the end of the day, this is a Brandon Sanderson book. It's not my favorite of his, but it's hard to dislike any of his books.

Wackiness aside, this was a fun and fast paced adventure. Alcatraz finds friends and family as he teams up with some odd people to retrieve his inheritance. He also learns to use magic glasses (who said four-eyes are nerds?), and discovers secrets about his world and Scott himself. It was a nice combination of adventure, coming of age, and magic.

Fun story that our library already owned. Sanderson is a fantastic writer and brings a great approach to the middle grade level. He includes interesting quips about being an author and uses an interesting device by interjecting as the author. I think lovers of Percy Jackson and How to Train Your Dragon will like the witty, sarcastic, and humorous approach to this story.

I liked the book, I think the best thing about it was the way it was written, that's what makes the story different and even interesting in some parts.
I liked that it's a quick story too.
I don't have anything bad to say about this story, I recommend it and maybe I'll read the rest of the series.

So this is my first BrandoSando book and I currently have the Mistborne trilogy sitting on my shelves watching me.

This was definitely a fun journey and an easy read with an exceptionally funny narration. This book definitely will make you laugh. I’m excited to be reading more middle-grade and while I may not pick up the sequel I’d definitely recommend to avid middle-grade readers (and actually middle-graders).

I'm a big fan of Brandon Sanderson and middle grade. Sadly, this wasn't my favorite. I thought he addressed the reader too much. Some stuff was way too nonsensical even for middle grade. I do think the second half was much better.

I am slowly going through Brandon Sanderson's work, procrastinating on actually getting into the Cosmere, so I thought with the new release of the paperback copy of Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, it was time to give his middle grade writing a chance.

I thought this was a great story for the demographic, however, there were a few things that take a prominent place in the writing that I do not jive with. The first, main one being the main character/narrator breaking the fourth wall. Our protagonist, Alcatraz, talks directly to the reader constantly. If it was every once in a while I could forgive it, but it is at the beginning of every chapter (at minimum). Breaking the fourth wall always brings me out of the story and is very jarring for me as an ADHD reader.

The second thing that really bothered me was the deprecating comments between characters. A little backstory for you: Alcatraz grew up in our world (aka Libraria), but he is really from another world that is kept secret from us (the Free Kingdoms). After his inheritance is delivered to him on his thirteenth birthday, he is attacked by evil librarians and his grandfather from the Free Kingdoms comes to rescue him. The whole book is about Alcatraz, his grandfather, two cousins, and a knight that is tasked with keeping grandpa safe trying to steal back the inheritance from the evil librarians. Alcatraz is constantly being told how stupid he is by his families & the knight for believing the things he was taught in Libraria. They basically bully him the whole book. I really hate bullies in books. It makes my blood boil and I do not find joy in reading about it. Especially when these people are suppose to be the family he never knew he had.

As mentioned before, I think if I knew an 8-12 year-old boy then I would give this book to him and assume he would enjoy it, so it gets an extra star from me for that, but I did not enjoy myself and do not plan on continuing on with this series. All my other Brandon Sanderson reads have been very engaging and I am sad this one fell short.

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians is my first Brandon Sanderson book and I am hooked!

I am big fan of Percy Jackson, Amari Peters, Harry Potter, and Alcatraz fits right in that category for me! Alcatraz is snarky and a little darker than normal heroes, but in the best way. The way that Alcatraz breaks the fourth wall regularly reminded me of Deadpool and added to the humor.

Alcatraz's superpower of breaking things starts off the story on a funny beat and I love the world that Sanderson builds. You can really see that Sanderson had a lot of fun while writing all the twists and turns and quirks in this story which makes it fun for the reader, too.

I would definitely recommend this story to upper elementary students and middle schoolers but also find the story enjoyable for all ages!

Thank you NetGalley and Starscape for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I received a free eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Despite Brandon Sanderson being a huge fantasy author, I have only ever read one of his fantasy standalones about 15 years ago and loved it. So when I saw Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians on NetGalley, I knew it was time to read some more of his writing.

This is a revamped version of the book originally published 15 years ago with a new cover and new illustrations inside. The story centers around a 13-year-old orphan boy Al who has a tendency to break things around him - which turns out to be his superpower and it might come in handy when he has to help his grandfather return their family possesion stolen by Evil Librarians.

I enjoyed this MG book quite a lot. The way the story is presented is appealing and unique - it is told by an older Alcatraz who assumes the name of Brandon Sanderson to tell his story to us readers living in the Librarian controlled parts of the world. The narrator's presense is amusing and keeps the book interesting.

The illustrations at the beginning of each chapter as wel as throughout the book are a nice addition to the reading experience.

Undeniably a great series for younger readers as well as older bookworms who love to read about books.

What kind of parents name their sweet baby Alcatraz? It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Well, Alcatraz was in the foster care system all his life, burdened with the name and one teeny tiny other thing; everything he touched, broke.

Not much of a problem, right? Think telephone, door handle, heater, bed, table, sink, car, stove, cupboard. It starts to get inconvenient and pricey for the foster parents--who think he does it on purpose--so he gets kicked out...again.

Until his 13th birthday (or close to it), when his grandpa shows up to take him on a trip. His grandpa is named after a prison too. And so it begins. Assassination attempts, menacing faces in the shadows. You know, creepy stuff. Gradpa says they have to break into the library (super dangerous regional headquarters of evil librarians) to save the world, so they do.

Their small yet determined group infiltrates the library, and hair-raising adventures ensue. Alcatraz learns a bit about his past, and a lot of odd things the librarians are hiding from our world. Like continents and stuff. You will never be quite the same after reading this book.

This is a quirky, often silly adventure story full of peril, with quick bouts of introspection. Although Alcatraz is 13, this book is for both children and adults who enjoy a melodrama.

4/5 Stars

This is a rerelease of the book originally published in 2016.

Thanks to Starscape and NetGalley for the free preview of this ebook; the review is voluntary.

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#MacmillanTorForgeBooks #StarscapeBooks
#ChildrensFiction #MiddleGradeBooks
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Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians is an uproariously funny, action-packed Middle Grade Fantasy story. I had an absolute blast reading this and actually finished it in a day. This is the first installment of a currently 5-book series, with a 6th-book set to be released this September. While this story originally published in 2007, it is now being rereleased with updated covers.

Prior to receiving a copy of this, I actually had no idea that Brandon Sanderson even had a Middle Grade series. As a big fan of MG-stories, I was super pumped to make this discovery! This one starts off with a hilarious Author's Note that definitely set the tone for the entire book. The author talks directly to the Reader and gets them ready for a rollicking, totally true tale.

Alcatraz Smedry, our main character, is an orphan, who on his 13th-birthday receives an inheritance from his parents; a bag of sand. Just his luck that a bag of sand would be all his parents actually left him. You quickly learn Alcatraz doesn't have the best luck and has taken the art of breaking things to a whole new level.

The bag of sand, which would seem a harmless possession, actually ends up getting stolen by a cult of evil librarians who are seeking to take over the world by spreading misinformation. Through a mysterious and unexpected visitor, Alacatraz is filled in on what the bag of sand actually is and schooled on the truth about the world. Like how a cult of evil librarians can even exist without anyone knowing about it. Alcatraz and his visitor then set out on a quest to retrieve the sands and stop the evil librarians from achieving their goals, pairing up with some allies along the way.

This story was such a delight. The humor never stopped. Everything about it was written with such snark. I really enjoyed Sanderson's commitment to keeping that tone the entire way through. It's wild and chaotic, over-the-top and enchanting. A nonstop thrill ride of good humor. I cannot wait to continue on with this series. I would love to join Alcatraz on as many adventures as I can.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Starscape, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I look forward to picking up the rest of the books!!

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this up because somehow as an avid fantasy reader I'd never picked up a Brandon Sanderson book, in general I feel like middle grade is a great arena to figure out if an author is for you because their best and worst traits tend to get condensed down to their purest forms. Unfortunately for me, this one just really didn't work for me.

The magic system and the world building were interesting, and one of my favorite elements of the book. The "negative" traits of the oculators being gifts that frequently helped them on their mission was a fun detail and I enjoyed reading as Sanderson came up with different ways for characters to use their gift in different situations. The minor characters were fun as well Bastille was a runaway favorite of mine, but what isn't to like about a girl with a cool sword. The illustrations were also wonderful, I'm a big fan.

All of that could not overpower what I didn't care for which was the tongue in cheek narration style and the frankly insufferable main character. I feel like it's almost enough to say that this is a book that was originally written in 2007 and leave it at that, because it is a book that was written in 2007 and has likely had minimal edits since. It's coming from an era of sarcastic narrators but I think middle grade has grown out of it and this book feels like it's a product of a bygone era in this most recent reprint. The repeated, and repeated, and repeated insistence that Alcatraz was not a nice or good person got tiresome after the fourth or fifth repeat, especially when there was a lack of follow through.

Ultimately, I'm not the target audience though and I can see this being a book (and series) that kids would love.

This was my first introduction to Sanderson and gosh I’m hooked. The writing in this one is so clever and fun and I loved how the main character addresses the reader constantly throughout. I loved all the commentary asides about books, libraries, and the craft of writing. This is a book unlike anything I’ve read. I would follow Alcatraz on any adventure. I am looking forward to diving into Mr. Sanderson’s adult novels. If his children’s books are this good I anticipate I’m in for a good time,

Alcatraz Smedley is annoying. He admits it when he is speaking directly to the reader and he admits it when he talks of the writer gimmicks that he employs throughout this book. Kids might like this snarky kid, but I did not. I kept reading because I wanted to know more about then evil librarians that control Alcatraz's world and I wnated to know how they managed to hide continents from the populace. The book isn't big on how or even why. Still kids might like his adventure to overthrow the bad guys, but I think I am done with this series.

Having read most of Sanderson's body of work and being a huge fan of Middle Grade books since I was part of the target audience myself, jumping into Alcatraz vs. The Evil Librarians was a no brainer.

Stepping into Alcatraz's head and discovering this new world with him was an adventure from the very first page. Filled with humor and snark, the world building is easy to follow but every bit as insteresting and complex as you'd expect from Sanderson. I was really interested to see how that would translate to younger audiences, but he did a marvelous job of bringing the magic without compromising on the details and intricacies.

Filled with interesting characters and plenty to discover, the charming illustrations throughout the book add so much character and whimsy to the story. I'm excited to see where Alcatraz's journey takes him.

Brandon Sanderson is such a phenomenal writer than I just gravitate towards anything he writes.

This book is mainly geared towards a younger audience but as an adult, I still adored this.

It reminds me a lot of Percy Jackson. It's very sort of meta with the main character speaking directly to the reader. It's quick and fun. Definitely a good read for anyone looking for a simple (smaller) fantasy book to just dive into and definitely something I'll be buying for my younger nieces and nephew.