Alcatraz versus the Shattered Lens

Gr 5-8-In the fourth title chronicling Alcatraz Smedry's adventures fighting the various sects of Evil Librarians trying to take over the Free Kingdoms, the focus of the war has shifted to Mokia. Alcatraz and company travel to the Mokian capital to help defend it against a Librarian siege in the hope that the formidable Knights of Crystallia will follow and turn the tide of the battle. Alcatraz's mettle as a leader is put to the ultimate test and his entire understanding of the war is called into question. Armed with a supply of exploding teddy bears, his infamous Talent (breaking things), and supported by his friends and the remainder of the Mokian army, Alcatraz hopes to repel the Librarian forces, including their seemingly unstoppable giant robots. Ramon de Ocampo delivers an engaging performance as he returns to narrate the final title (Scholastic, 2010) in Brandon Sanderson's series. He strikes the right balance between Alcatraz's naturally snarky tone and the surprisingly serious moments as the boy comes to terms with his mounting responsibility and shifting perspective. As listeners familiar with the series know, Alcatraz frequently breaks from the narrative to address them directly on any number of ostensibly unrelated subjects, and de Ocampo shifts neatly between the action and these asides, maintaining the listeners' interest throughout. For those who prefer their fantasy with a dash of slapstick, plenty of metafictional humor, and a heap of irreverence. -Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Alcatraz Smedry returns for the fourth book in the metafictionally inclined series, here sneaking into Mokia to rally the Knights of Crystallia to the city's defense during a Librarian siege. Besides trying to take over the city and make everything the same and boring, the Librarians want to keep Alcatraz's father from giving Smedry talents to everyone (Alcatraz's talent, for instance, is breaking things). Also there are giant robots, magic spectacles, and exploding teddy bears. Alcatraz's seat-of-the-pants narration -- with references to 'wombats, outer space, and stamp collections' in chapters that don't exist, direct requests to readers (to change their underwear daily, for instance), and self-referential comments on the literary nature of the book -- might make the series appear at first to be a zany, kid-pandering mess, but the charismatic characters hold the whole enterprise together while the stealth plot unfolds. Alcatraz discovers new things about his talent that connect the talents to the magic spectacles and make Alcatraz question his allegiance to his Smedry father. As goofy randomness streamlines into compelling narration, even readers who don't find giant robots reason alone to pick up a book will be drawn into Alcatraz's cohesive world, with its unique form of magic and that magic's natural enemy, the Librarians. ANITA L. BURKAM (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.