Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics

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Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics

Chris Grabenstein

Random House Books for Young Readers: 2016, 288 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics is the sequel to Grabenstein's Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library.  Kids from all over America are upset at Mr. Lemoncello for not giving them a chance to escape from his library.  So what does he do?  He creates the first ever Library Olympiad!  Teams from across the country battles the hometown heroes as the winning players will receive a full scholarship to the college of their choice.  But something funny's going on.  Books are starting to disappear and a very persistent group of Alexandriaville natives are trying to wrestle control of the library away from Mr. Lemoncello.  Can Kyle and his friends win the game and figure out what in the heck is going on?

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

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Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Chris Grabenstein

Random House Books for Young Readers: 2013, 304 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Kyle Keeley is the youngest of three boys and considers himself the most average, especially since his oldest brother is a great athlete and his middle brother is considered a genius.  Kyle loves games, especially anything by the great Luigi Lemoncello, who also happens to be building the new library in town.  To commemorate the grand opening, twelve kids will get to spend the night in the library and figure out how to get escape, using the clues hidden in the library.  Kyle is lucky enough to win a spot along with his best friend, Akimi.  Kyle and the others learn that there's more to Lemoncello's library than meets the eye and readers will enjoy following the characters as they literally try to escape Mr. Lemoncello's library.

Goodbye Stranger

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Goodbye Stranger

Rebecca Stead

Wendy Lamb Books: 2015, 304 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Goodbye Stranger is a middle-grade novel about changing friendships and relationships.  Set in present day New York City, the book follows the friendship between Bridge, Tabitha, and Em.  They're in 7th grade, still best friends forever, but things have been different lately.  Em "has curves now," is popular with the older soccer crowd, and is texting an 8th grade boy.  Tab believes most people have an ulterior motive and Bridge is still wondering what her purpose is in the world, especially after surviving a horrible accident while also thinking about what her new friendship with Sherm Russo means.  Throw in an unnamed high school girl who is dealing with betrayal on Valentine's Day and you've got the recipe for a funny and poignant novel that shows readers that no matter what age you are, it's still difficult to deal with changes in the relationships that mean the most to you.

Auggie & Me

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Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories

R. J. Palacio

Corgi Childrens: 2015, 303 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Auggie & Me is not a sequel to Wonder, written by the same author, R. J. Palacio.  It is a parallel to Wonder and offers the perspective of three characters from the original book: Julian, Christopher, and Charlotte.  Julian is the main antagonist and bully and his chapter answers some lingering questions that readers may have had while reading Wonder.  Christopher is Auggie's childhood best friend who moved away and Charlotte is one of Auggie's classmates and original "welcome buddy" who showed Auggie around the building before the school year began.  Again, readers gain insight as to how Auggie's presence effected those around him in numerous ways while also focusing on their own issues that seemingly every middle schooler goes through: changing friendships, family problems, worrying about popularity, and just trying to fit in and be liked.

Wonder

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Wonder

R. J. Palacio

Corgi Childrens: 2013, 315 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Auggie is about to start 5th grade after being home-schooled all his life - not because his parents are wary of the education system - but because of his rare medical issues.  Auggie was born with Treacher Collins syndrome and a cleft palate; even after enduring many surgeries, his face is still noticeably different than those around him.  Wonder switches between different narrators, such as Auggie, his sister, and his friend, Jack.  The different narrations are awesome snippets into how all these characters are somehow effected by their relationship with Auggie, whether it's for the better or for the worse.  Wonder provides readers with great insight into kindness and empathy and I recommend it for all ages, late elementary and up, even though its target audience is middle school readers.