It took me forever to read this. It shouldn’t have taken me so long; it’s not a particularly thick book, but I just couldn’t get into it. The narrator (who is also supposedly the author) has lots of asides, which some readers may find delightful, but which I found annoying. For me, they interfered with the plot and I never became fully invested or engaged in the story. I decided to read it based on a very positive review from a fourth grader, so it just goes to show you, everyone’s taste differs.
Alcatraz, like all Smedrys is named for a prison. Like all Smedrys he has a very unusual special talent (in his case – breaking things). But unlike most Smedrys, Alcatraz has been raised in the Hushlands, a strange librarian controlled place that happens to include the United States of America!! He has grown up without realizing that librarians are evil and that he has an important part to play in saving the Hushlands. On his thirteenth birthday he receives a mysterious gift, followed by a visit from a grandfather he never knew existed. And from that moment on his life is changed forever.
This book has absolutely killer vocabulary, making it much harder than you would expect given the intended audience. It also has the requisite fantasy world specific vocabulary which makes it even harder. Want a taste of the words that will send you to the dictionary? poignant, archaic, contemptible, butlery, inclination, devuiysm feigned, sadistic, duress, smelted, dastardly, infiltrate, scoffing, solemnity, ponderous. As if those aren’t enough, he throws in propondity and confesses he made it up just to see if you’d go look it up.
Given the vocabulary and the sometimes confusing plot, I’d recommend this for Grades 4 and up, noting that only fourth graders with a good vocabulary will really be able to tackle it with understanding.
Adoption: There are a lot of sort of difficult adoption issues handled here in a fairly indelicate way. Alcatraz repeatedly refers to his birth parents as his “real parents”. For most children who have been adopted, the new family they have formed includes their “real parents”. It’s a thoughtless move on the author’s part to dismiss all families formed by adoption as not real. Alcatraz goes through dozens of foster parents who all want to give him back. While children in foster care aren’t always in homes where the placement works out, this book makes it seem like these placements are practically a joke where parents test drive children and give back those they don’t like. Many foster parents manage children who are far more difficult than our supposedly “bad” main character and they do it with love and compassion. The end also features a big reveal where the Alcatraz’s mother is not dead, just sort of evil.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – A gas station attendant is shirtless. Sing thinks that bandaging a sprained ankle might be a courtship ritual. Alcatraz accidentally made a friend’s pants fall down.
Profanity – “hell,” “stupid,” “moron,”
Death, Violence and Gore – There are lots of gun references. Someone draws a gun on Alcatraz and tries to shoot him and his grandfather. Sing has a dozen guns including Uzis which he does shoot. Someone is stabbed in the leg. Bastille threatens to stab people. Swords are used. Bastille hits Alcatraz in the face with her handbag. A guard is elbowed and choked. We’re told someone did not kill a librarian by slitting his throat with a library card.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – None.
Wow. All the wrong buttons here. And just who is it that says we don’t have a problem with guns? In a children’s book? For elementary age? I am here spluttering in anger. AND who made librarian’s evil? Yuck. Just yuck.
Yeah, that stuff happens sometimes. That’s life, horrible as it is, and doesn’t need to be censored. Obviously. It’s important for the book.
Also, you emphasized the parts you don’t like. That’s not very objective. And it’s not stupid, by the way.