[XVQ]≡ Download Alcatraz #1 Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Brandon Sanderson 9780439925501 Books

Alcatraz #1 Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Brandon Sanderson 9780439925501 Books

Download As PDF : Alcatraz #1 Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Brandon Sanderson 9780439925501 Books

Alcatraz #1 Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Brandon Sanderson 9780439925501 Books

Did you know that Librarians were evil??? I’ve always suspected but didn’t know just how deep the conspiracy went until I read this book.

What does a writer do when he needs to get the creative juices going and take a break from one of the many serious tombs he is writing? Well if he is Brandon Sanderson he writes something completely and utterly different and a bit silly and makes fun of himself a little while doing it.

*** Now, you’re probably wondering about the beginning of the previous chapter, with its reference to evil Librarians, altars made from encyclopedias, and its general feeling of “Oh, no! Alcatraz is going to be sacrificed!” Before we get to this, let me explain something about myself. I’ve been many things in my life. Student. Spy. Sacrifice. Potted plant. However, at this point, I’m something completely different from all of those—something more frightening than any of them.
I’m a writer. ***

As an adult in my *cough*fouthir*cough*ties Middle Grade books aren’t my bread and butter. I actually rarely read them. HOWEVER….there are a few writers that can make a middle grade book just as fun for the adults as the kids…sorta like Bugs Bunny. Sanderson to my surprise (I’m not really sure why I was that surprised I love most of his stuff) now joins that very short list with Rick Riordan and J.K. Rowling as one of my favorite Middle Grade Authors.

This book is hi-LAR-i-OUS all the way though from beginning to end. There are so many funny instances and things happening throughout the story I laughed continuously. There is the continuous breaking of the 4th wall and side jaunts as our young Alcatraz talks to the reader. I loved almost all of them and the story was totally engaging for me all the way through.

*** I generally don’t recommend this kind of book at all. It is far too interesting. Perhaps you have had other kinds of books recommended to you. Perhaps, even, you have been given books by friends, parents, or teachers, then told that these books are the type you “have to read.” Those books are invariably described as “important”—which, in my experience, pretty much means that they’re boring. (Words like meaningful and thoughtful are other good clues.) If there is a boy in these kinds of books, he will not go on an adventure to fight against Librarians, paper monsters, and one-eyed Dark Oculators. In fact, the lad will not go on an adventure or fight against anything at all. Instead, his dog will die. Or, in some cases, his mother will die. If it’s a really meaningful book, both his dog and his mother will die. (Apparently, most writers have something against dogs and mothers.) ***

The Rundown:

Alcatraz is an orphaned boy who just turned 13 and realized that he has special powers and is needed to SAVE THE WORLD….sound familiar??? Well it is but he can’t fly or turn invisible, he doesn’t have super strength or the ability to transport himself across distances. No his special power is…..he can break things…tah dahhhhh. Your thinking that hey I too can break things and that doesn’t sound like it is all that special. Well you are wrong and you are probably a librarian or a hushlander who doesn’t understand the awesomeness of breaking things.

***“What kinds of things can you break?” Grandpa Smedry asked.
“All kinds of things,” I said. “Doors, electronics, tables. Once I broke a chicken.”
“A chicken?”
I nodded. “It was on a field trip. I got … kind of frustrated, and I picked up a chicken. When I put it down, it immediately lost all of its feathers, and from then on refused to eat anything but cat food.”***

Alcatraz isn’t the only one who has a superpower. No indeed everyone in the main line of his family can do something special. Like his Cousin Sing who can trip, a Grandfather who can be late and another cousin that….

*** “And what is your Talent?” I dutifully asked.
“I can say things that make absolutely no sense whatsoever.”
“I thought everyone here had that Talent,” I noted. Nobody laughed. Free Kingdomers never get my jokes.***

Don’t worry Alcatraz I got all your jokes and they were hilarious.

So as superpowers go they sound a little lame….but trust me, when you see how they work you will be AMAZED and ENTERTAINED. There are also knights, monsters made out of bad romance novels and glasses that you will be dying to get a pair of.

If you have read a Sanderson novel then you know that the world building and magic system is going to be great. It will be imaginative and inventive and there will be a twist. Even though this is a kid’s book….it is so not just a kid’s book. There is a little something for everyone and I can’t believe I waited so long to read these.

I bow down again to the writing Genius that is Sanderson and can’t wait to jump into the next book of the series. Fun for all ages.


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Alcatraz #1 Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Brandon Sanderson 9780439925501 Books Reviews

Why I Think Boys May Enjoy This

Before I get to why I would recommend this book, let me first say that I fully understand why teachers and librarians would recommend it on the basis of the overwhelming amount of direct reference to literary themes and techniques. To me, however, this was the weakest part of the entire book.

Told in the first-person, Sanderson uses the fact that this is an “autobiography” to regularly break the fourth wall and directly expatiate on the methods of storytelling and writing. To me, this is one of the biggest pet peeves I have with middle grade books that have a tendency to “talk down” to their intended audience with such direct and blatant exposition.

That being said, if these bits were removed (and could easily be done, since they are often in the beginning of chapters), the fantasy story *behind* this nonsense is quite brilliant. Alcatraz is a very relatable protagonist and the uniqueness of the world and the Smedry magical “talents” (all of which seem silly on the surface until their true usefulness comes into play). The duality of the world Sanderson built is also fantastic, between the Hushlands (eg, the world we know as filtered through the control of the Librarians) and the world as Alcatraz learns it to be.
As a parody writer, I am a fan of twisted tropes and fourth wall breaking, and Sanderson uses his “autobiography” method of storytelling to find plenty of ways to do this, seemingly referencing the silliness of several major fantasy stories throughout this telling. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and just wish he didn’t have the numerous bits that interrupted the flow of the story time and again.

Content/Appropriateness

This is more than appropriate for a middle grade (as low as 8 years) audience. There is no concern for language or sexual themes at all and there is minimal violence. There are references and scenes concerning torture and the violence is real, but nothing is described in too vivid or overly horrific detail as to make it unfit for young audiences.

Rating

3/5 Giant Cartoon Mallets from Toonopolis, The Blog's Books for Boys Review
Did you know that Librarians were evil??? I’ve always suspected but didn’t know just how deep the conspiracy went until I read this book.

What does a writer do when he needs to get the creative juices going and take a break from one of the many serious tombs he is writing? Well if he is Brandon Sanderson he writes something completely and utterly different and a bit silly and makes fun of himself a little while doing it.

*** Now, you’re probably wondering about the beginning of the previous chapter, with its reference to evil Librarians, altars made from encyclopedias, and its general feeling of “Oh, no! Alcatraz is going to be sacrificed!” Before we get to this, let me explain something about myself. I’ve been many things in my life. Student. Spy. Sacrifice. Potted plant. However, at this point, I’m something completely different from all of those—something more frightening than any of them.
I’m a writer. ***

As an adult in my *cough*fouthir*cough*ties Middle Grade books aren’t my bread and butter. I actually rarely read them. HOWEVER….there are a few writers that can make a middle grade book just as fun for the adults as the kids…sorta like Bugs Bunny. Sanderson to my surprise (I’m not really sure why I was that surprised I love most of his stuff) now joins that very short list with Rick Riordan and J.K. Rowling as one of my favorite Middle Grade Authors.

This book is hi-LAR-i-OUS all the way though from beginning to end. There are so many funny instances and things happening throughout the story I laughed continuously. There is the continuous breaking of the 4th wall and side jaunts as our young Alcatraz talks to the reader. I loved almost all of them and the story was totally engaging for me all the way through.

*** I generally don’t recommend this kind of book at all. It is far too interesting. Perhaps you have had other kinds of books recommended to you. Perhaps, even, you have been given books by friends, parents, or teachers, then told that these books are the type you “have to read.” Those books are invariably described as “important”—which, in my experience, pretty much means that they’re boring. (Words like meaningful and thoughtful are other good clues.) If there is a boy in these kinds of books, he will not go on an adventure to fight against Librarians, paper monsters, and one-eyed Dark Oculators. In fact, the lad will not go on an adventure or fight against anything at all. Instead, his dog will die. Or, in some cases, his mother will die. If it’s a really meaningful book, both his dog and his mother will die. (Apparently, most writers have something against dogs and mothers.) ***

The Rundown

Alcatraz is an orphaned boy who just turned 13 and realized that he has special powers and is needed to SAVE THE WORLD….sound familiar??? Well it is but he can’t fly or turn invisible, he doesn’t have super strength or the ability to transport himself across distances. No his special power is…..he can break things…tah dahhhhh. Your thinking that hey I too can break things and that doesn’t sound like it is all that special. Well you are wrong and you are probably a librarian or a hushlander who doesn’t understand the awesomeness of breaking things.

***“What kinds of things can you break?” Grandpa Smedry asked.
“All kinds of things,” I said. “Doors, electronics, tables. Once I broke a chicken.”
“A chicken?”
I nodded. “It was on a field trip. I got … kind of frustrated, and I picked up a chicken. When I put it down, it immediately lost all of its feathers, and from then on refused to eat anything but cat food.”***

Alcatraz isn’t the only one who has a superpower. No indeed everyone in the main line of his family can do something special. Like his Cousin Sing who can trip, a Grandfather who can be late and another cousin that….

*** “And what is your Talent?” I dutifully asked.
“I can say things that make absolutely no sense whatsoever.”
“I thought everyone here had that Talent,” I noted. Nobody laughed. Free Kingdomers never get my jokes.***

Don’t worry Alcatraz I got all your jokes and they were hilarious.

So as superpowers go they sound a little lame….but trust me, when you see how they work you will be AMAZED and ENTERTAINED. There are also knights, monsters made out of bad romance novels and glasses that you will be dying to get a pair of.

If you have read a Sanderson novel then you know that the world building and magic system is going to be great. It will be imaginative and inventive and there will be a twist. Even though this is a kid’s book….it is so not just a kid’s book. There is a little something for everyone and I can’t believe I waited so long to read these.

I bow down again to the writing Genius that is Sanderson and can’t wait to jump into the next book of the series. Fun for all ages.