First sentence: Just about every kid in America wished they could be Kyle Keeley.
Premise/plot: Love books? Don't mind gimmicks? Pick up a copy of Chris Grabenstein's Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics.
Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics is a premise-driven novel with little to no character development. The plot consists solely of gimmicks--or games. In the first book, four kids got the chance to win spots in commercials for Mr. Lemoncello's games. In the second book, there's a nation-wide rematch. Kids from all over the United States are given the chance to compete in a week-long "Olympic" event at Lemoncello's amazing library in Ohio. The twelve games allow for a lot of name dropping--book titles, author names, plot descriptions. But mostly silly, over-the-top, fantastic gimmicks. Will Kyle, Akimi, Sierra, and Miguell win again? Or will they meet their match in Marjory Muldauer?
My thoughts: I am not one for gimmicks. I am one for reading books. I am one for libraries. But can a book's sole strength come from name-dropping books and authors and still be a good book? Isn't a little character development ever needed? The plot comes solely from the kids--all devoid of characterization essentially--playing games and solving puzzles. That being said, it was a quick, easy read. It didn't require a bit of thought. I don't regret the time I spent reading it.
© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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