BLOG TOUR --- Rebel in the Library of Ever by Zeno Alexander --- MIDDLE GRADE FICTION [Review + Giveaway]

Title: Rebel in the Library of Ever (The Library of Ever #2)

Author & Illustrator: Zeno Alexander
Publication Date: April 28, 2020
Edition: Hardcover, ebook; 224 pgs
Publisher: Imprint (MacMillan)
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Kindle - Barnes & Noble  - iBooks - Kobo - The Book Depository - Bookshop.org
Audience: Upper Elementary/Middle Grade
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tour Schedule

Week One 

5/25/2020 Lone Tree Reads Excerpt 

5/25/2020 A Dream Within A Dream Excerpt 

5/26/2020 BookHounds YA Excerpt 

5/26/2020 BookHounds Instagram Post 

5/27/2020 Kait Plus Books Review 

5/27/2020 Little Red Reads Excerpt 

5/28/2020 JaimeRockstarBookTours Instagram Post 

5/28/2020 Lifestyle of Me Review 

5/29/2020 Do You Dog-ear? Review 

5/29/2020 Locks, Hooks and Books Review 

Week Two 

6/1/2020 Eli to the nth Review 

6/1/2020 @_ebl_inc_ Review 

6/2/2020 Trapped Inside Stories Review 

6/2/2020 Annej Reads Instagram Post 

6/3/2020 Fazila Reads Excerpt 

6/3/2020 Fazila Reads Instagram Post 

6/4/2020 lifeofafemalebibliophile Review 

6/4/2020 Books A-Brewin' Excerpt 

6/5/2020 Popthebutterfly Reads Review 

6/5/2020 Popthebutterfly Reads Instagram Post 

The Summary

Rebel in the Library of Ever continues Zeno Alexander’s acclaimed middle-grade fantasy series with a dangerous takeover of the magical Library as our heroine fights to make knowledge free for everyone.

Lenora returns to the magical Library―which holds every book ever known on its shelves. But she discovers the Library is under new management, its incredible rooms and corridors turned dark and sinister.

She quickly connects with a secret resistance that’s trying to free knowledge from the shadows threatening it. Her new friends introduce her to an ancient lost city, hang-gliding, and mathematical beings larger than the universe itself. And they help her face the mysterious Board of new leaders―who are leading the Library into darkness.

Now it’s up to Lenora to prove that knowledge is always more powerful than ignorance and fear.

An Imprint Book

Praise for The Library of Ever:

“Further proof that librarians are mighty in all universes.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Zeno Alexander's The Library of Ever reads like someone mixed Neil Gaiman with Chris Grabenstein, then threw in an extra dash of charm. Reading it is like getting lost in an entire library full of books, and never wanting to leave!”―James Riley, New York Times bestselling author of the Story Thieves series

“Full of whimsy and pluck, The Library of Ever is a total delight!” ―Wendy Mass, New York Times bestselling author

(Goodreads)

My Review

Rebel in the Library of Ever by Zeno Alexander, and the first book in the series, The Library of Ever, are the cutest books I have read in a long time.  Both are great, but the second, Rebel, is so full of love: love of knowledge, love of truth, love of friendship, love of libraries.  I want to live/work/play in this library!  It is the ULTIMATE library, and I want it to really exist.  

The premise that Zeno Alexander is telling the main character's life story is a premise seen in Middle Grade fiction, but it is an effective one. Lenora is a privileged, white, upper-class little girl who has dreams beyond her prescribed life.  In the first book, Lenora sneaks away from a careless nanny and discovers The Library, where she works her way up the library system ladder, helping patrons along the way.  In the second book, the reader is back with Lenora, who was sent back to the "real" world to grow up a bit.  But, as Lenora finds out, a librarian's job is never done.

There is a main lesson at the heart of the book, all told through the guise of kooky adventure after kooky adventure.  The morality of light vs. dark, good v.s evil, is in each page, with the real hero being knowledge itself.  Lenora is a rascally and strong main character, one both boys and girls would root for throughout her many tales.  While it is plot heavy, the reader learns about Lenora, and our real world, through each "lesson". Upper elementary kids will love the fun hijinks, while middle grade kids will enjoy the over-arching battle for intellectual freedom (believe me, kids want to be told the truth and given facts; intellectual freedom is right in their wheel-house).

A love letter to librarians, libraries, and books themselves, Rebel in the Library of Ever is a wonderfully intelligent, funny, and heartfelt book.  A book that many kids, and adults, will enjoy.  It definitely made me proud to be a librarian!

Final Rating

Excerpt

“Uh oh,” said Lenora to Rosa. “I think we might have changed history.” She was worried now, for in books, changing history was almost never good. 

“Do not fear,” replied Rosa. “We all change history with everything we do. This is why we should consider our actions carefully, as each one will affect the future to come. Should we join Lucy?” 

For Lucy had gone straight to the table, where she joined a puzzled-looking librarian who was peering down at the assorted fragments, his chin in his hand, deep in thought. So deep that he had completely failed to notice two girls and an alien who had popped out of nowhere — or had they? Lenora was not sure how history changes worked exactly. But she was sure now that the objects on the table had been in the same box that Lucy had lost in the sea. 

Giving up (for the moment) on figuring out how history changing worked, Lenora went over to the table, Rosa beside her. She cleared her throat. “Excuse me,” she said to Cosmo (for that was the name on the librarian’s badge).

Cosmo flinched and, looking up, suddenly noticed Lenora and the others. “Oh!” he said. “My apologies. I have been studying the Antikythera mechanism so intently that I frequently fail to notice things around me.” 

“That’s all right,” said Lenora. “So what exactly is this…Anti—kith—uh…” 

“ant-ee-KITH-ur-uh,” said Cosmo. “It is a small Greek island, near which this ancient mechanism was discovered, all broken up into pieces at the bottom of the Aegean Sea. It is estimated to have been lost to the waters around 100 BC.” 

“Sorry about that,” said Lucy.

First Book in the Series

The Library of Ever (The Library of Ever #1)

About the Author

After emerging from the shadows of the past, his history yet to be fully explained, Zeno Alexander spent years exploring the world's libraries before settling down in his lavish underground bunker, where he regularly hosts exquisite dinner parties and tends to his collection of extinct plants. His friendship with the famous librarian, Lenora, has turned into a series of biographical works devoted to chronicling her adventures.

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Giveaway

1 winner will win a signed finished copy of REBEL IN THE LIBRARY OF EVER, US Only.

Click the image to enter!

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