Jen Swann Downey

I wanted to love this book, I really did. What librarian wouldn't be excited about a book featuring "your average sword-swinging, karate-chopping, crime-fighting ninja librarians"? And just look at that cover! (Although if the ARC had been distributed with the final cover for the hardback, instead of this cover, I may not have had such high expectations.) But no matter how much I wanted to love it, in the end, it just wasn't one of my favorites.

It took me a long time to get through this book; whenever I had to set it aside, I wasn't very excited to pick it up again. I didn't find any of the characters particularly endearing and wasn't too concerned with what happened to them. The plot wasn't as exciting or action-filled as I expected, with a plot like "ninja librarians," and at times it seemed to drag.

The concept of a library that spans time and space, with librarians who defend free expression, is an excellent one, but in the end I think it was all a bit much for one middle-grade book. There were so many characters, historical mentions, and Lybrariad rules/traditions that it was difficult to keep them all straight or really get a handle on things.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.… (plus d'informations)

At points it can be difficult to see beyond the obvious similarities between this series and the Harry Potter books: A precocious and often self-absorbed child attends a magic school, and through a mixture of disregard for the authorities and belief that she should be able to do whatever she wants, happens to save the day.

The story here is actually a bit more complex than a Potter knock-off. The hook here is that a group of Lybrarians are able to time travel and defend free speech. There's a passing nod here to the idea of just how complicated such a thing would actually be, but as a kid book the details of messing with the time lines aren't major distraction.

Threads that were introduced in the first book are given unexpected importance here in the second, and the story continues to unfold in a pleasant and engaging manner. One hopes, though, that the protagonist becomes more likeable, and less convinced that only her feelings should matter.

[there is, incidentally, a second series from a different author with the same title.]… (plus d'informations)