4* on Sanderson scale. Minor spoilers - though nothing that really impacts the outcome...
This book was so much more than I was expecting. I knew it was a Sanderson book, and figured I'd like it, but kept hearing him, and other reviews saying it's different from his normal books as it's a middle grade novel. Which it is, but it is still a Sanderson novel. And contains everything a Sanderson novel should contain.

So you always speak (well I do - at least I think about it) about looking at cliches in books or movies and turning them around somehow or looking at the story and twisting it to make it different from everything else that is out there. I've listened to some of Sanderson's lectures and this is covered in his first one. Taking ideas and finding what's different about them. Well I have to say that has been accomplished at such a great scale in this book. Not only with 'breaking the fourth wall' where Alcatraz speaks to us as the reader, but in the characters themselves. Take the Talents for example: taking one's...misfortune of constantly breaking things and making it not only into a Talent, but an extremely useful talent? Arriving late as a talent? Tripping?! Yes, these are things that are of great use in the story. I can think of a few people that could stand to see their constant tripping as a talent. They should read this book.

I also can't help but think how much fun this book would have been to write - it's plenty fun reading! Again, I'll ask my rhetorical questions: the ability to say complete gibberish in your story but still make it be completely appropriate? Who doesn't want that? I know I do.

There are also so many quotable parts in this book.
"Rebellious trouble making kids looked through the fantasy section." - of course this is where the rebellious kids are.

"Authors write books to torture people" - another great one. Probably because it's so accurate.

"So, when people try to give you some book with a shiny round award on the cover, be kind and gracious, but tell them you don't read "fantasy," because you prefer stories that are real. Then come back here and continue your research on the cult of evil Librarians who secretly rule the world." - that's probably the best quote. And I'm going to be using it from now on.

Moving on from that...I wish I had read these books as a young child. I could really see myself believing in all that Alcatraz is saying, more so than I ever believed in Santa Clause. Unfortunately, the Evil Librarians have too much of a hold on me. Perhaps the next book will find me admitting the truth.

I also would like to note that while Alcatraz would probably disagree, I think this book teaches you to take pride in what you can do, not matter how trivial you may think it is at first. See above in regards to making seemingly useless talents useful. And dinosaurs. Everything has its use.

Finally, I'm not sure if these were all added in the re-release but either way they proved too much for me. Let me explain - Sanderson puts links/hints to his other books in this one. And no, no - not the Earth-world worlds, but the cosmere ones too. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but more likely he did it on purpose. Alcatraz told me authors are cruel. I should believe him. Back to the point, the one that figuratively, though almost literally, made my head explode with cosmere dreams was "Wasing not of wasing is." If you don't know, that's a direct quote from Mistborn. I stared at that sentence for a solid minute. And the ship set sail at that instant. Alcatraz is part of the cosmere. I don't care what anyone says.

Another one was "The steel skull of your arch nemesis" - when speaking about mementoes people carry. Which is obviously (in my mind and hopefully everyone else's) related to the Reckoners Series. That's set on earth - but I've had recent reason to let that join the ship that everything is cosmere.

One last note, not sure if this was what it was aiming at when Alcatraz wrote it, but pretty sure there was a jibe at Harry Potter. And I'm going to quote it just in case (for some mind-blowing reason) you don't decide to read this. And it is more spoilery than the others so....

"What did you expect? That I'd leave you here all summer, in the exact place where your enemies know where to look? With people that aren't even your family? In a place you don't really like, and that is depressingly normal compared to the world you've grown to love?"

If that isn't a link to HP I don't know what is. Maybe I'm just forcing my connections, but I like them, so I'll keep them.

And that is all. Read the book. It is simple, but it teaches you not only about being yourself and all that stuff, AND grammar and how to write! Fabulous. It's also pretty funny and will undoubtedly take away the stress of your life in favour of the stress of being controlled by Evil Librarians. At least then you'll know the truth.

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians - Likewise Book Reviews

4 Reviews