This book was all kinds of fun! From the brave and percosious Lenora to the brilliant world of the library to the real themes that are tackled in this novel. There is not one thing I could say I did not enjoy. It's very difficult to write a review without spoilers, but here goes!

Lenora discovers the magical library and is able to work there. WHAT KIND OF JOB IS THIS?! Where was this job when *I* was a kid?! I loved how the author weaved knowledge and facts into the story as if it just naturally belonged there. The organicness of this was fantastic. As an avid learner and reader, I was thrilled with the over all theme of the quest for knowledge. Knowledge IS power, no matter what some in power attempt to spew otherwise. We should be encouraging our children to explore and learn all they want while ultimately learning to be good, decent people. Zeno Alexander brought this adorable character to life in that spirit, and I can only hope that this is not the last we see of Lenora and our Library!

This was a fun story with a fantastic concept that appealed to a younger me immensely---finding a secret magical library and getting to work there? Yes, please! Lenora learns lots of new facts for her new library patrons and goes on a mini-adventure for each fact. I loved the message that the book portrayed about the importance of the quest for knowledge. Kids who love to learn about the world will get sucked into Lenora's fun and imaginative quests.

The Library of Ever

by Zeno Alexander

Lenora is a rich, privileged, eleven year old, cared for by a nanny in the absence of her vacationing, neglectful parents. With a nanny absorbed by shopping and tech devices, Lenora is understandably bored, but that changes quickly when she escapes the nanny’s unwatchful eye in the LIBRARY. To her delight, she is hired to work there. What follows is a series of magical librarian adventures. With each one of them, Lenora proves her worth and advances from Fourth Assistant Apprentice Librarian up through the ranks.

The adventures are fun and scary in this amazing library created by Zeno Alexander in The Library of Ever. Lenora is set on tasks by Malachi, the Chief Answerer, and she bravely confronts the Forces of Darkness who want to destroy Light in the world by destroying knowledge. The scary features are appropriate to Middle Grade readers with transporting by tubes, shrinking and unshrinking, dark caverns, holes that suddenly appear, evil men in bowler hats who can chill a room, and robots with spinning swords for arms. There are lighter moments too. Lenora becomes a cat in a diorama to rescue a lost kitten. Lenora is ever helpful, for as a librarian that is her job. Her good deeds include resettling a colony of penguins and helping a kindly robot find a lost memory. The plot moves quickly from adventure to adventure and is an appropriate length for Middle Grade readers. As an adult reader I enjoyed it too, smiling over antics and anticipating each new adventure along with each promotion for Apprentice Librarian Lenora who has always enjoyed the adventures to be found in books.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5

Category: Children’s Fiction, Middle Grades

Notes: Ages: 8-11
Grades: 4-7

Publication: April 30, 2019—Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group

Memorable Lines:

Malachi burst onto the scene looking rather disheveled, meaning a wisp of hair had escaped from her bun and her badge was ever so slightly askew.

“This isn’t the Complaints Desk,” said Lenora shortly. “The Complaints Desk is down the stairs, across the hall, over the bridge, past the waterfall, then you take the fifth left after the third right and straight on ’til morning.” Lenora had no idea if there was a Complaints Desk. “You’ll also need ice skates.”

Remember, Lenora, you are not alone in this fight, even if it will feel like that sometimes. You have allies, and you can rely on them to help you with the battles you are not yet ready to fight.

This book was so fun and adventurous. I will definitely be using this book as a read aloud for my classroom this year.

Magical and whimsical! What a fun and exciting ride. Very cute and a very lovable cast of characters. I think children will love it.

The Library of Ever was a-do-ra-ble! Omg! It’s one of those books that makes me want to be a librarian and explore old magical libraries. This is a story about Lenora who finds herself exploring a hidden library that holds the universe’s secrets and then goes on a lot of different adventures. This was super fun and easy to read. Definitely great for elementary to middle grades.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for this eARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A complete love letter to libraries and librarians. Quirky, imaginative, and fun. Highly recommended for anyone that likes their adventures with a dash of talking Beluga Whales.

Exciting story about a curious girl who wanders beyond her local library to a much vaster library! Very fun

This is the perfect type of middle grade novel if your a lover of knowledge. To set you the story and not give it all away we basically have Lenora who is bored and her parents never pay any attention to her. One day she gets dragged around town by her nanny and one of the stops is the library. Here where your adventure in knowledge awaits you if you dare to continue reading. Lenora is sucked into a world of danger when she is offered a job as Fourth Assistant Apprentice Librarian. Now like all middle grade novels or at least the ones i read you need to set your adult serious aside and just escape back to when you were little and all the rules of reality did not weight down your imagination. That why i pick up these books they are fast reads for me but they let me just have a fun jaunt of on adventure where things really don’t make sense.

Lenora ends up answering and solving some really amazing quests as she progresses in her job. You learn fun facts and even may get inquisitive about what your reading enough to go pick up some other books and learn more about penguins, ants, or ancient languages that have been lost to time. If your a parent trying to entice your child to gain some new information or you have one who is naturally curious about things this may be just the book to scratch that itch.

I loved this book so much! I may be biased, as a librarian myself, but I loved every minute of Lenora's adventure as a librarian in the magical Library of Ever. From the minute she swore the librarian's oath ("Do you swear to work hard? Do you swear to venture forth bravely and find the answer to any question, no matter the challenge? Do you swear to find a path for those who are lost, and to improvise and think on your feet and rely on your wits and valor? And do you swear to oppose the enemies of knowledge with all your courage and strength, wherever they might be found?") I knew the Library of Ever was going to be awesome, and it did not disappoint. In retrospect, Lenora definitely upheld every part of her oath! I would love to say more about what she encounters in the Library, but I don't want to spoil a single minute of this book for anyone - it was a delight to read, hard to put down, and there was a new discovery around every corner! I do hope this was just the beginning of Lenora's tale as I want to read more!

This was a fun story with a fantastic concept that appealed to a younger me immensely---finding a secret magical library and getting to work there? Yes, please! Lenora learns lots of new facts for her new library patrons and goes on a mini-adventure for each fact. My only complaint was that the story felt a little disjointed (the facts that Lenora learns don't have anything to do with each other) and I didn't feel a lot of connection to the MC or a sense of her feelings--there were really no stakes until about 70% into the book. I loved the message that the book portrayed about the importance of the quest for knowledge--once I knew what Lenora was up against and why, I was more engaged with the story; I just wish it had happened a little sooner. Still, kids who love to learn about the world will get sucked into Lenora's fun and imaginative quests.

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

A fast-paced adventure as Lenora reaches into another realm and becomes an appointed Fourth Assistant Apprentice Librarian in a library filled with every book and every fact in the universe. Through each encounter, Lenora learns more about the library and herself. She must save the library and test her limits in the process as she finds the answers on the library's shelves.

Without giving away too much, this adventure story is perfect for book lovers and middle graders looking for a quick, fun read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillankidsbooks for the advance Kindle copy of this 4.30.19 release. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this adorable middle grades story. I got a kick out of it! When Lenora’s nanny lets her out of her sight at a library, Lenora falls into a new world altogether. There, she becomes an apprentice in a magical library, learning all sorts of lessons and getting into a few scrapes along the way. I loved how the author depicts librarians as problem-solvers, truth-seekers, and information protectors. The Forces of Darkness are censors, and the plucky heroine saves it all. Super cute for grades 4-6 or so. #mglit #bookstagram #librarian #librariansofinstagram #middleschoollibrarian

This is an amazing book all about the awesomeness of the library. It takes you to various lands and places all from the library. It even deals with some issues that librarians and book lovers face. I really enjoyed it, especially being a librarian myself.

I liked The Library of Ever a lot and talked about it on Book Riot’s All the Books podcast for the release week. The discussion in that podcast can stand as my review.

This book was very middle grade, and I can imagine my younger self absolutely salivating over the depictions of this funky library.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fun young middle grade fantasy novel. Loved curious and insightful Lenora, always taking notes of her discoveries and questions. The trials/adventures she goes on are quickly resolved (1-2 chapters). This would work for bedtime or classroom reading. Don't expect this to be at the Percy Jackson-level of intricacy. To me this felt like more of an introduction to fantasy for readers almost but not yet ready to dive into those longer sorts of adventures. I did feel like the villain confrontations lived on a different level of the story - the adventures were like rich and vibrant colors while the confrontations felt black and white in comparison. They have fairly simply stated motives and the message to the reader - value libraries and knowledge - is clear. I think I was expecting something more subtle and teased out over time. For a younger reader, though, this might be a better fit. Regardless, the message is an important one for our culture today and for our future.

If you or your young reader love fantasy, book/library stories, great protagonists, or if you are looking to introduce kids to fantasy, check this one out!

Imminently clever and vastly entertaining, this is a jumble of adventures from before written language through space travel. It takes Lenora – and us – through the delights as well as the challenges of libraries and their struggle to keep the light and delight of knowledge lit and burning. Lenora is fired with enthusiasm and steely resolve to carry that torch and always say “Hello. How may I help you?” when confronted with a confused patron on a quest for an answer. Oh and when that patron is an ant, use pheromones as your language.

It is definitely written for (younger) middle school readers and I agree with some critiques I’ve read that say the ending is a little rushed and that the lesson presented might come off as a touch simplistic but the adventures and young heroine will probably carry the day for almost everyone. B

It seems somewhat wrong that a librarian doesn't like this paean to the work of librarians, but I never connected with Lenora or her adventures. It felt like the message of the value of libraries overwhelmed plot, while cute world-building devices overwhelmed characters. And, there's a small part of me that is annoyed that it seems Lenora can do the research needed to assist library users without years of learning. That said, it's certainly an adequate book for libraries that need more series adventures. Review based on an ARC from NetGalley.

I had great hopes for this book, given the concept. Unfortunately, there was a lot of plot, but no joy of discovery and no character development. The author practiced much telling, but little showing.