Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein J Gra

Luigii Lemoncello is the gazillionaire creator of every kind of game a 12-year-old could want, from board games to computer games. He has used his enormous wealth to build a new library for his hometown of Alexandriaville, Ohio. Everything about the library is top-secret, so the entire town is itching for the grand opening. But Mr. Lemoncello can't let such an occasion pass without creating a little dramatic flair himself, so he has devised a contest to select 12 12-year-olds from town to be the first to explore the new library during an overnight lock-in.
When the next morning comes, however, the doors remain locked and the real game begins. The twelve participants, should they accept the challenge, must figure out a secret way out of the library. ("The way out is not the way you came in.") Clues are all over the library and individuals soon realize that working together is better than working separately. Two teams emerge.
The main character is Kyle Keeley, super-competitor and avid game player who knows just about everything there is to know about Mr. Lemoncello's games. He's at a real disadvantage, though, when it comes to book experience and library know-how. He first teams up with his best friend, super-smart Akimi Hughes. With Kyle's problem-solving know-how, and Akimi's book smarts, they form a plan to find and decipher the clues.
I like to play games and to solve puzzles. This book was written so that I could kind of play the game along with the characters and try to figure out how all the clues came together to provide the secret escape route. It kept me thinking and reading. I also liked the way the author included references to other books for young people, and not just the ones included by title in the story. There are also a lot of references to the Dewey Decimal system, worked in in sort of an incidental way.
This book was fast-paced with likable characters. There was only one thing that didn't really make sense to me. The new library was built because the old one had been torn down 12 years before -- and never replaced! I can't believe any city or town would go without a library for so long -- or would tear one down without already having a new one ready to move into. Okay, so maybe I'm a bit partial to the importance of libraries. I think the author could have used the same story line with a new building that was just replacing an old one. Regardless, Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library was a lot of fun.

AR Level: 4.5
AR Points: 7