Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians

Without its excellent narrator, ALCATRAZ would be farfetched, even ludicrous. Thanks to Charlie McWade, however, the improbable autobiography of Alcatraz Smedry is a smart-aleck fantasy that listeners will relish. Smedry's special gift, breaking things, helps him battle the evil librarians who hold society captive. The unique voices McWade creates for each character keep the dialogue crisp, as do his superior timing and delivery. In particular, the unreliable Alcatraz's sarcastic asides arrive with snort-out-loud humor. When the story gets crazy, McWade pulls listeners back in with a witty crack that will have them searching for missing continents, British dinosaurs, and librarian conspiracies. This is an original offering for the adventure-seeking. C.A. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Starred review from November 19, 2007
In Sanderson’s (Elantris
) children’s debut, an over-the-top fantasy/adventure, librarians are evil because they control all the information in Hushland (America). They distort some facts and fabricate the rest. Alcatraz, meanwhile, is the name of the protagonist, who has been raised in a series of foster homes. As the novel opens, on his 13th birthday, he is quickly initiated into the true nature of librarians by his heretofore unmet grandfather, Leavenworth Smedry. Before long, Sanderson brings on talking dinosaurs (it’s a librarian distortion that they’re extinct), a parallel world, visiting villains and more. The madcap plot can seem chaotic, with action pulling Alcatraz toward new characters at a breakneck speed, but Sanderson unexpectedly draws everything together in an extravagantly silly climax. Readers whose sense of humor runs toward the subversive will be instantly captivated: not only does the author poke fun at librarians, he lampoons books (including this one) in frequent passages directly addressed to readers: “You are saying to yourself, 'The story just lost me. It degenerated into pure silliness…. I’m going to go read a book about a boy whose dog gets killed by his mother. Twice.’” Like Lemony Snicket and superhero comics rolled into one (and then revved up on steroids), this nutty novel isn’t for everyone, but it’s also sure to win passionate fans. Ages 9-up.