Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library Book Review

If it's a Lemoncello it's...something, I dunno. Look it's been like half a year or so since I last read the book.

What is it? Middle School-level novel book about...books. Yeah, really.
Where can you find it? Well, umm...at the library. Yeah. Also on Amazon and all that.
Who wrote it? Chris Grabenstien who (as it explains on the dust jacket flap) helped James Patterson develop some of his young adult/middle school books especially I Funny so he's got some credentials behind him at least.
Why are we reviewing this? Well because Nickelodeon like sprang us with this movie and what not.

Yeah, about that. As far as I'm concerned this movie pretty much came out of nowhere - I saw an official announcement like back in mid-late September, which is pretty late given how close to the premiere date it is. And even back then it was only advertised as "coming soon" so I was assuming it was just going to be over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Then I saw it was actually going to be their Columbus Day movie just two days ago, so yeah. Right up from outta nowhere. Of course part of the problem is that I haven't been watching a lot of Nickelodeon because...other than Power Rangers Ninja Steel, The Loud House and letting I Am Frankie build up on my DVR there really isn't much reason to watch Nickelodeon anymore, is there?

But anyway, we're not reviewing the movie (which again premieres tomorrow), we're reviewing the book it's based on. And really, given how it is a pretty decently hyped best-seller I'm surprised it's stuck in NOM territory instead of being an actual theatrical release. Just from the movie previews the CGI for Charlotte (yes as in her and her Web)...isn't very inspiring, even with the concessions of it being a NOM.

And yeah, this will have to be a pretty CGI-reliant movie because the book's plot is basically Clue + Monopoloy but more book-themed. You have this guy, Mr. Lemoncello (duh) who went from poverty to making a fortune making, selling and marketing board games (sorry, those of you who were hoping for a gelatto-themed library will be massively disappointed - I know I was). While he was growing up in poverty, he went to the library a lot and read a lot of books, and now that he's come back as a multi-millionaire he's bought the old library, saving it from demolition and turned it into a life-sized recreation of a library-themed board game, and uhh...that's pretty much it without getting into spoiler territory. You have your usual teams of good guys (well, boys plus some girls) and bad guys (well, boys, or rather boy really) and obstacle course-based adventures and what have you. Oh, and references to teen girls wanting to hit it big by being actresses on Disney Channel, because even though this book was written like in 2015 they didn't quite get the memo that that's not really a thing that happens anymore (and again, if there's a blog that would know, it's this one, given the big glaring title and URL and all).

Also, ouch that if people read the book that the Nickelodeon movie is based on, that they'll see references to Disney Channel. Leeeeeeel.

Anyway, it's a pretty good book but it's strengths are absolutely in the puzzles the reader has to figure out along the way which is, as you might figure, a bit hard to replicate and convey in a review other than, uh, this is good and all. So, yeah.

Novel Grade: B+. The sequel I liked slightly better, but not enough to rise it from the same B+ grade. The third book...just about should be coming out around now, actually, if it's not already out.
Favorite Character: Haley Daley because she has a hilarious name and also she's going to be massively disappointed when after being a Disney Channel Princess all it nets her is a sequel show a decade later to keep milking that nostalgia, so she gets some sympathy points for this.

Extra Thoughts:

 - wow I really sucked at writing this review, didn't I? I probably could've condensed all that nonsense into a mini-review.

 - well I guess we'll see how well the movie does at least