Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians

Brandon Sanderson is known for a few things. First, he was the author selected to complete Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. A daunting task for anyone.  He is also known for his own series Mistborn and the The Way of Kings . He has written a few young adult novels, Rithmatist and Steelheart . I've only tried Rithmatist and it just did not hook me enough to read more than the first chapter. But then I learned that Sanderson had written a series for younger children. The first book is called Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians.

Alcatraz is an extremely unlucky kid. Alcatraz's parents have died and he is moved from one foster home to another. He has a tendency to break nearly everything he touches. On his birthday Alcatraz received a mysterious bag of sand from his grandfather. He doesn't think much about it until the bag is stolen. Alcatraz, his grandfather, and some other quirky characters must get the sand back from a group of Evil Librarians.

Alcatraz is a quirky, sarcastic, fun character. Most of the action in the story is fun and weird. He learns to accept himself and his tendency to break things - weird skill, to be sure. But the story is more about a boy that is sad and discovering that he is truly special and important.

This book is perfect for boys or girls who love sarcastic, funny books. One boy came into the library asking specifically for something like this. He LOVED the series. I've only read the first book myself, but I may pick up the rest when I work through my "to-read" list.

Book Rating: 4 stars

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.