Rebel in the Library of Ever
The Library of Ever series, Book 2
Zeno Alexander
Imprint
Fiction, MG Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: About a year ago, Lenora discovered a great secret in the city library: a hidden gateway to the vast, magical Library of Ever, repository of all knowledge and stories. She also discovered that the Forces of Darkness were actively attacking the Library. If knowledge is going to survive, it needs brave, bold Librarians like Lenora to protect it... but she can't even protect herself in her kendo classes, which she took up after narrowly escaping the Forces last time. She hasn't even been able to find her way back to the archway leading to the Library of Ever. Then she finds one of her favorite librarians in tears because she was just fired by the new Board - the Board that she overheard taking over last year, planning "big changes" and "increased profit margins" (since when was a library about making money?)... clearly the Forces of Darkness at work. Lenora once more finds her way into the magical otherworldly library - and things are not all well. A new Director has taken over. Books are disappearing, as are whole sections of the library. And the Forces of Darkness walk freely among the shelves. Worse, her mentor, the great woman Malachi, has been demoted. Someone is going to have to find the first Librarian and save the Library of Ever, and soon, or the Forces of Darkness will triumph, strangling knowledge and curiosity and ushering in an era of ignorance, fear, and hatred. That someone, apparently, is Lenora. She only wishes she knew how...
REVIEW: The second in a (probable) duology, Rebel in the Library of Ever may take place a year after the first book, but melds seamlessly. Lenora's not the inexperienced assistant apprentice she was in the first volume, coming into the adventure with a greater understanding of the place, the job, and the enemy... but, amazingly, not everyone seems to recognize the evil walking in plain sight in the Library of Ever. Patrons seem to be coming around to the new Director's profit-driven schemes, despite the dwindling stock of books and shrinking staff, even if they're often unsatisfied when they can't find answers or help; nobody apparently notices or cares enough to stand up to the Forces of Darkness so long as there's a smiling face and a veneer of legitimacy and "progress" plastered over them. With the Forces emboldened and deeply entrenched, she faces a steeper battle than before, though she has more friends than before - including, unexpectedly, the Director's own daughter, who has an eye-openeing experience following Lenora through the labyrinthine Library. More interesting ideas and facts are explored, including the ongoing search for the largest number (which is not infinity, which is not technically a number) and the question of the Library of Alexandria's fate (among other mysteries), as Lenora heads toward the ultimate confrontation with the monstrous Forces of Darkness and their plot to hijack the Library of Ever to spread their lies (a plot that's all too easy to see in effect in today's world of "alternative facts"). It's a satisfying conclusion that seems to wrap the series, though there are a few tantalizing hints from the first volume that hint at more adventures to come for Lenora.
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