Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
- Downloads：7193
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-07-09 09:52:01
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Brandon Sanderson
- ISBN：0765378957
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Experience the action-packed first book in #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson's laugh-out-loud middle-grade fantasy series like never before--Alcatraz vs。 the Evil Librarians is now in paperback with all new covers！
AN ANCIENT RIVALRY REAWAKENS。
Everything I'd known about the world was a lie。
On my thirteenth birthday， I， Alcatraz Smedry （yes， I got named after a prison， don't ask） received my inheritance: a bag of sand。 And then I accidentally destroyed my foster parents' kitchen。 It's not my fault， things just break around me， I swear！
I thought the sand was a joke until evil Librarians came to steal it。 You're probably thinking， "Librarians are nice people who recommend good books，" but that's just what they want you to think！ It turns out they're actually a secret cult keeping the truth from you--a hidden world filled with magical eyeglasses， talking dinosaurs， and knights with crystal swords！
Or so my Grandpa Smedry claimed when he suddenly showed up to rescue me。 So now I have to go with him to invade the local library and get that sand back， before it's used to conquer the world。 And Grandpa says how I keep breaking things is actually an amazing talent。 There's no way that can all be true， right？
Will I ever make it back home alive？
An excellent choice to read aloud to the whole family。 Funny， exciting， and briskly paced。 --NPR
AN ANCIENT RIVALRY REAWAKENS。
Everything I'd known about the world was a lie。
On my thirteenth birthday， I， Alcatraz Smedry （yes， I got named after a prison， don't ask） received my inheritance: a bag of sand。 And then I accidentally destroyed my foster parents' kitchen。 It's not my fault， things just break around me， I swear！
I thought the sand was a joke until evil Librarians came to steal it。 You're probably thinking， "Librarians are nice people who recommend good books，" but that's just what they want you to think！ It turns out they're actually a secret cult keeping the truth from you--a hidden world filled with magical eyeglasses， talking dinosaurs， and knights with crystal swords！
Or so my Grandpa Smedry claimed when he suddenly showed up to rescue me。 So now I have to go with him to invade the local library and get that sand back， before it's used to conquer the world。 And Grandpa says how I keep breaking things is actually an amazing talent。 There's no way that can all be true， right？
Will I ever make it back home alive？
An excellent choice to read aloud to the whole family。 Funny， exciting， and briskly paced。 --NPR
Reviews
Four Puddles In The Rain
，
This book is so amazing！！！！！ There aren't any words to describe it。 Just read it。 :） This book is so amazing！！！！！ There aren't any words to describe it。 Just read it。 :） 。。。more
Chad
，
Very similar to Harry Potter and how it sets up the story for future books。 Fun book by Brandon， but so many comparisons to the Potter series leave me reluctant to follow up with the other books in the series。
Heidi
，
This was the best book of my Summer so far。 I can't wait to read the next book！！！ This was the best book of my Summer so far。 I can't wait to read the next book！！！ 。。。more
Elizabeth
，
I tend to be a broken record when it comes to Brandon Sanderson。 I'll be the first person to admit I'm not overly critical when I like something， but I also really don't consider that to be a bad thing。 The first aspect of the story that grabbed me was the Smedry talents。 As an adult living with ADHD it feels like MY LIFE is Smedry talents: never being on time， losing everything， etc。 It was weirdly encouraging and uplifting to me to see what most people consider problems or even moral failures I tend to be a broken record when it comes to Brandon Sanderson。 I'll be the first person to admit I'm not overly critical when I like something， but I also really don't consider that to be a bad thing。 The first aspect of the story that grabbed me was the Smedry talents。 As an adult living with ADHD it feels like MY LIFE is Smedry talents: never being on time， losing everything， etc。 It was weirdly encouraging and uplifting to me to see what most people consider problems or even moral failures uplifted and even celebrated！ Super clever and enjoyable。 I of course am also a sucker for books about books or libraries， or even librarians。 I hope to join the librarian force someday， perhaps I can be a secret agent or a force for good in an otherwise corrupt system。 I really loved this first installment and immediately went and read the second， which I enjoyed even more。 Here I am， the broken record， but Brandy Sandy has done it again。 。。。more
Javi
，
Me ha encantado！ Ya sabía yo que Sanderson no me dejaría decepcionado por mucho tiempo。 （Fuera del Cosmere） Hacía rato que no me leía un libro con tanto gusto。 Lo empecé esta mañana y no pude parar。 En contraste con Steelheart， la historia de Alcatraz es original， fresca y bien dotada de humor。 Sarcasmo puro。 Espero que el hype continúe en las otras entregas de esta saga。 Por ahora: super recomendado！
Shannon Hugo
，
It was ok。 I'm not a super-fan of 2nd person point of view （despite my love of TV shows that break the 4th wall）， but I am super glad I finally read something by Brandon Sanderson。 It was ok。 I'm not a super-fan of 2nd person point of view （despite my love of TV shows that break the 4th wall）， but I am super glad I finally read something by Brandon Sanderson。 。。。more
NerdyKitty815
，
Yeah， yeah， I'm an adult， and I shouldn't read kids' books。 But this particular one was written by Brandon frickin' Sanderson， so。。。I mean， I need to read all of his books！ The genre doesn't matter！ And while the age rating of this book was admittedly very obvious throughout， that didn't stop it from being enjoyable。 The magic system was， as always， fascinating， as the worldbuilding。 The story and characters were funny and clever， and it was hard not to be absorbed。 There was still depth， believ Yeah， yeah， I'm an adult， and I shouldn't read kids' books。 But this particular one was written by Brandon frickin' Sanderson， so。。。I mean， I need to read all of his books！ The genre doesn't matter！ And while the age rating of this book was admittedly very obvious throughout， that didn't stop it from being enjoyable。 The magic system was， as always， fascinating， as the worldbuilding。 The story and characters were funny and clever， and it was hard not to be absorbed。 There was still depth， believe it or not， and at its heart， this is a book that can be enjoyed by any age。 It may appear a guilty pleasure， but trust me， it's far less stupid than all of my other guilty pleasures。 At least this had the dignity to kill people on-page。 。。。more
Szymon Seroka
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Idealna weekendowa lektura :） taki Harry Poter bez patosu :）
Michael A Langley
，
Brandon Sanderson writes a middle-school book that this adult enjoyed and laughed out loud。 Pandering to book lovers and library folks by basing it in their world， it nonetheless lived up to the attention grabbing title。 The story was fun and kept me engaged。 Although， after reading the notes at the end， I wonder if he truly has had his library card revoked so many times。 Dang evil librarians， not understanding how some of these books become best friends。
Raven
，
The story was fun enough。 It was just difficult to engage with it as an adult。 I am undecided on if I will continue the series。
Nabla
，
Jeżeli jesteś fanem Szczygielskiego albo zaczytujesz się książkami Riodrana - najprawdopodobniejsza spodoba Ci się też seria "Alcatraz kontra bibliotekarze" Jeżeli jesteś fanem Szczygielskiego albo zaczytujesz się książkami Riodrana - najprawdopodobniejsza spodoba Ci się też seria "Alcatraz kontra bibliotekarze" 。。。more
Liz
，
I'm always trying to get young people interested in reading and I think this book might appeal to the tween reader。 It is a fantasy with enough action and humor to keep them interested and a plot to allow them use their imagination。 I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review。 I'm always trying to get young people interested in reading and I think this book might appeal to the tween reader。 It is a fantasy with enough action and humor to keep them interested and a plot to allow them use their imagination。 I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review。 。。。more
Monty
，
3。75I'm a massive Brandon Sanderson fan， and as such I have read all his major series and most of his novellas， cosmere or otherwise。And so， once I got that itch for some fresh B-money literature， my options were scant。 I wasn't expecting much out of Alcatraz， I dislike YA and was afraid I was gonna just stop halfway。I needn't have been scared。 All the tropes that make me dislike YA are still here， sure。 But they are done in a way that I was able to accept them as part of the genre and not as a 3。75I'm a massive Brandon Sanderson fan， and as such I have read all his major series and most of his novellas， cosmere or otherwise。And so， once I got that itch for some fresh B-money literature， my options were scant。 I wasn't expecting much out of Alcatraz， I dislike YA and was afraid I was gonna just stop halfway。I needn't have been scared。 All the tropes that make me dislike YA are still here， sure。 But they are done in a way that I was able to accept them as part of the genre and not as a detriment to the story。 The main character is insufferable at times （but in a very genuine way that a lot of kids are at times）， the time that has passed is inconsistent with the amount of character growth and relationship building， and the action does feel a bit toned down at times。But the book is also so much more！ It's ridiculously meta， and the world is silly in a childish way， but it works， it's not stupid， just like a child is not stupid in their imagination。 It's also smart， in a way that I feel we often forget kids are。 The book doesn't assume it's audience is a bunch of dumb kids， it assumes it's a bunch of interested and clever individuals， and as such I found I could enjoy it even tho I have already outgrown a lot of the problems the main character is going through。Above all it felt like this was Brandon showing off， it's a book about evil librarians where a （kinda） sadistic author dissects how books are written as he is writing it。Thoroughly enjoyed it， Ratubaga。 。。。more
Leila Bowers
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Fun。 Fluffy。 A reading nutritional level of cotton candy。
Ryan Gainey
，
An excellent Sanderson take on a Harry Potter-style tale with some good on-the-nose critiques of that other series。
Nina
，
This was a unique read with a lot of whimsy and imagination。 I think the targeted audience will love it， and it offers a refreshing title for middle school readers unlike anything else。 The narration was humorous， casual but when explaining the fanciful elements of this story was chaotic and hard to follow。 However， the humor and tone got me through it。 While the characters were very clear to me， I could not tell you much about what they were fighting for， how or why。 Thank you Macmillan-Tor/For This was a unique read with a lot of whimsy and imagination。 I think the targeted audience will love it， and it offers a refreshing title for middle school readers unlike anything else。 The narration was humorous， casual but when explaining the fanciful elements of this story was chaotic and hard to follow。 However， the humor and tone got me through it。 While the characters were very clear to me， I could not tell you much about what they were fighting for， how or why。 Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge， Starscape & Netgalley for a copy of this book for review。 。。。more
jenny moline
，
Liked how the author wrote the story adding in his thoughts
Joanna
，
DNF。 Wiem， że nie jestem docelową grupą odbiorczą， ale czułam się z każdą kolejną stroną bardziej i bardziej gastlightowana。
Jeni Enjaian
，
Originally when I made my goal of reading through all of Brandon Sanderson's works， I thought primarily of his Cosmere works along with the Skyward series。 （I have no intention of finishing the Steelheart series。 It did not work for me at all。） Then I saw some things on Sanderson's channel about this book and series as well as seeing the book at my local bookstore so I decided to pick it up and I'm so glad that I did。This book is full of absurd， snarky humor that I absolutely love。 Most of my fa Originally when I made my goal of reading through all of Brandon Sanderson's works， I thought primarily of his Cosmere works along with the Skyward series。 （I have no intention of finishing the Steelheart series。 It did not work for me at all。） Then I saw some things on Sanderson's channel about this book and series as well as seeing the book at my local bookstore so I decided to pick it up and I'm so glad that I did。This book is full of absurd， snarky humor that I absolutely love。 Most of my favorite humor deals with snark and puns， hence why series like A Series of Unfortunate Events as well as others like that have worked so well for me。Additionally， I loved the set up of having Alacatraz act as the author of this book who constantly broke the fourth wall by speaking directly to the readers。 It adds an element of so-called reality to the book。 I think that some may get annoyed with Alcatraz and just how many times he does break the fourth wall， but I loved it。I cannot wait for the next four books in the series to arrive。 （I have to wait because the entire series is getting a cover redesign and the books are being rereleased。） 。。。more
Trevor Cox
，
It had some funny moments and isn't bad for a children's book。 I think I would have enjoyed it much more if I was closer in age to its target audience。 Don't trust this review though because I am a librarian ;） It had some funny moments and isn't bad for a children's book。 I think I would have enjoyed it much more if I was closer in age to its target audience。 Don't trust this review though because I am a librarian ;） 。。。more
Nicole Rogers
，
3。5 ⭐️ rounded up。 This is a fun book… pretty humorous。 I felt like the main character Alcatraz could have been a close cousin to Jeff Kinney’s Greg Heffley （Diary of a Wimpy Kid）。 While it was a bit too “young” for me to continue the series， it would be great for the age group intended。
Colleen B
，
The series has potential （maybe that's my biased faith in the author） but this was a rocky， yet entertaining start。 I'll be continuing The series has potential （maybe that's my biased faith in the author） but this was a rocky， yet entertaining start。 I'll be continuing 。。。more
Cyrena Leniger
，
My kids first intro to Brandon Sanderson and they are hooked！
Kenneth
，
I bounced off this the first time I tried reading it， but I was in the middle of my first run on all things Sanderson and going from the Mistborn trilogy， to Warbreaker， to this was too much of an adjustment at the time。 Having read all his stuff multiple times now except for the Alcatraz series， it was time to really dig it and once I adjusted to the much more kid oriented writing， I had a great time！The story's fun， the characters are likable， and not surprisingly the world building and magic I bounced off this the first time I tried reading it， but I was in the middle of my first run on all things Sanderson and going from the Mistborn trilogy， to Warbreaker， to this was too much of an adjustment at the time。 Having read all his stuff multiple times now except for the Alcatraz series， it was time to really dig it and once I adjusted to the much more kid oriented writing， I had a great time！The story's fun， the characters are likable， and not surprisingly the world building and magic system are both fantastic。 。。。more
Bryan
，
I don't know why I put this series off for so long。 This is a work of non-fiction masquerading as fiction so the evil librarians will let it sit on the shelves。 There are so many fun little details from in this story but explaining most of them would be minor spoilers。 I will let you experience them for yourself。 I don't know why I put this series off for so long。 This is a work of non-fiction masquerading as fiction so the evil librarians will let it sit on the shelves。 There are so many fun little details from in this story but explaining most of them would be minor spoilers。 I will let you experience them for yourself。 。。。more
Arhazo
，
I got this because it's a Brandon Sanderson book， but I had to stop 32% in。 The story was funny， and the plot very intriguing，，，，but two things stood out to me。Alcatraz's voice just didn't fit。 He's thirteen and talks like he's 50。 I couldn't see past it， it was a little too unbelievable to me。 The second thing was there was no way to connect with Alcatraz or empathize with him。 He breaks things and like he keeps saying stuff like he's bad and doesn't care。 I find it hard to connect with charact I got this because it's a Brandon Sanderson book， but I had to stop 32% in。 The story was funny， and the plot very intriguing，，，，but two things stood out to me。Alcatraz's voice just didn't fit。 He's thirteen and talks like he's 50。 I couldn't see past it， it was a little too unbelievable to me。 The second thing was there was no way to connect with Alcatraz or empathize with him。 He breaks things and like he keeps saying stuff like he's bad and doesn't care。 I find it hard to connect with characters like that。 I assumed that maybe he's a bit of an unreliable narrator， and that if I finished the book I can determine what's true for myself， but I couldn't finish the book 。I lied， there's one main reason why I didn't finish the book。 The other two points I can live with， but what really killed me was the pacing。 The chapters and pacing just really dragged out sooooo long。 I got bored waiting to hook onto something。 。。。more
Huu Vu
，
Nội dung căn bản là khá nhưng mà giọng văn thì con nít， nặng thể loại middle-grade quá。Nhân vật chính Alcatraz có tính cách khá đặc biệt khiến cho trope "người được chọn" có phần đỡ nhàm chán。 Các năng lực có phần kỳ quái của các nhân vật chính và cách nó được vận dụng cũng tạo ra được nhiều tình huống thú vị。 Xây dựng thế giới thì vẫn đúng chất Sanderson， tuy nhiên thực sự chưa được thể hiện nhiều vì tập này vẫn diễn ra quy mô nhỏ。Điểm trừ quá lớn là Alcatraz có giọng dẫn chuyện vô cùng khó chị Nội dung căn bản là khá nhưng mà giọng văn thì con nít， nặng thể loại middle-grade quá。Nhân vật chính Alcatraz có tính cách khá đặc biệt khiến cho trope "người được chọn" có phần đỡ nhàm chán。 Các năng lực có phần kỳ quái của các nhân vật chính và cách nó được vận dụng cũng tạo ra được nhiều tình huống thú vị。 Xây dựng thế giới thì vẫn đúng chất Sanderson， tuy nhiên thực sự chưa được thể hiện nhiều vì tập này vẫn diễn ra quy mô nhỏ。Điểm trừ quá lớn là Alcatraz có giọng dẫn chuyện vô cùng khó chịu， tỏ ra thông thái và hay giải thích thái quá bất kỳ vấn đề gì。 Cái này phù hợp với độc giả nhỏ tuổi còn mình đọc thì chỉ thấy nản mà thôi， sau một hồi thì toàn lướt qua。4- sao， nói chung là cũng muốn đọc tiếp nhưng chưa biết bao giờ :v 。。。more
Sadie Rose
，
This was a fun little middle grade story。 Not sure I enjoyed it enough to pick up the next book in the series， but we'll see。 This was a fun little middle grade story。 Not sure I enjoyed it enough to pick up the next book in the series， but we'll see。 。。。more
Jenny
，
The sarcasm， talking directly to the audience， and meta-jokes make this is a challenging middle grade read。 Fun and probably great for avid readers of fantasy， who will find the alternate world easier to navigate。
Betsy
，