Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race

Synopsis:
Kyle and other previous winners compete in the Lemmoncello Library Race to win a new video game. In the midst of the competition a rival game maker sets out to ruin Lemmoncello's reputation. Kyle and friends must fight to restore Lemmoncello's good name and assure the future of the library.

My rating:

4/5

I am a fan of this series and have read the books prior to this one. So far, this has been my least favorite. It is a fine middle grade book but I didn't love it as much as I loved the previous Lemmoncello books.

This book continued to have the fun and zany things I expect in a Lemmoncello book as well as clues and puzzles to engage me. I was not as interested in the books overall theme as I was in the past books. Also, for the first time this book crossed the line of believability for me (arguably this line was tenuous with the first two books). I could not suspend my disbelief far enough to be fully immersed in this novel.


While I know many other readers felt the past books were very "young" this was the first book I felt it was difficult to enjoy as an adult reader. The fact I am not a middle-grade reader has never been an issue with my enjoyment of the previous books.

All of these books are steeped in whimsy and are Willy Wonka-esk however that has rarely been an issue with my enjoyment of them. This book just nudged the line a bit too far for my taste.

Additionally, this book had fewer puzzles for the reader to solve and felt less interactive than the two previous.

It was still a brilliant book and I highly recommend the series. This book was just not my favorite of the ( )

Game-maker Luigi L. Lemoncello is testing his “Fabulous Fact-Finding Frenzy” game in which the players research to find information about famous Americans, Following clues, the players peruse library books, race around on foot, ride bicycles, travel in bookmobiles, and fly in Mr. Lemoncello’s own corporate banana jet. Kyle Keeley, naturally, wants to win. But when he uncovers some disreputable “facts” about Mr. Lemoncello, it looks as if his hero may just turn out to be a fraud.

Can Kyle find the answers before it’s too late to save Mr. Lemoncello and the great Lemoncello Library?

The third installment of the Lemoncello Library adventures doesn’t disappoint. [Although this enchanting tale stands perfectly well on its own, anyone who hasn’t read the first two adventures, “Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library” and “Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics,” is urged to consider remedying that oversight at the earliest opportunity.]

All the usual characters are in place once again along with the delightfully despicable game-making Krinkle brothers. The newest Lemoncello invention, the Nonfictionator, is on display as the riotous plot twists and turns and the story unfolds. Along the way, there are riddles to solve, puzzles to unravel, codes to crack, and references to a profusion of books any book-lover, young or old, will instantly recognize.

From the first page, readers will discover this lively tribute to libraries, reading, and research is completely unputdownable.

Highly recommended. ( )