All About Middle Grade Review: Alcatraz VS the Evil Librarians

Alcatraz VS the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz, 1) by Brandon Sanderson, February 16, 2016 (originally published  October 1, 2007). 320 pages. Published by Starscape. Source: Publisher.

On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry gets a bag of sand in the mail-his only inheritance from his father and mother. He soon learns that this is no ordinary bag of sand. It is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians who are taking over the world by spreading misinformation and suppressing truth. Alcatraz must stop them, using the only weapon he has: an incredible talent for breaking things.

First Sentence:
So there I was, tied to an altar made from outdated encyclopedias, about to get sacrificed to the dark powers of evil Librarians.

I never thought that my first Brandon Sanderson book would be a middle grade one. I was actually surprised to learn that he had wrote a middle grade series, but very eager to test out his writing and world building with Alcatraz VS the Evil Librarians.

Even though I actually read the synopsis for this one, I was not entirely sure what to expect from this book in regards to writing. I guess the question remains, did I enjoy this fairly popular author's writing? Actually, yes, yes I did. Sure, I hear this book is different then his other work, not just in age range, but, I enjoyed it and was not disappointed.

First thoughts-
I was not expecting Alcatraz VS the Evil Librarians to be quite as funny as it ended up being. I don't know why I thought that, just that I did. Even though Alcatraz stated that one would most likely be annoyed with him by time he finished relating his story, I quite enjoyed the way the story was told and how he teased you with information.Given my track record with books that tease you, I was very surprised that it didn't annoy me.

Second Thoughts-
Alcatraz, actually all the characters, were fun to read about. There was just so much room for growth for Alcatraz. Like learning about his history and dealing with his tendency to push people away. I thought it was interesting to see how his characters evolved, against his wishes,

Writing-wise-
I know I already said this...but, I really enjoyed my first taste of Brandon Sanderson's writing. He just did a great job. What really caught my attention with the plot would have to be the (few) free lands versus those held by evil librarians. Not only did I like the idea behind the two different factions, but, most importantly, I liked the way it was handled. With a story as crazy as Alcatraz VS the Evil Librarians, it could have gone either the way of greatness or totally flopping.

Final Verdict: Alcatraz VS the Evil Librarians- Madness and mayhem!! I quite liked that about this book!!

A copy of this book was received in consideration for review. All thoughts are my own.