by Michelle Knudsen
Candlewick Press
2014
343 pages
ISBN: 9780763660383
Enticingly evil, freshly funny, winsomely wry, and eerily entertaining, The Evil Librarian takes two of the must unlike characters--a librarian and a demon (hey, librarians are angels!)--and brings them forth as one new arrival at Central High School. Handsome and charismatic Mr. Gabriel (Gabriel is God's messenger angel in the Bible) appears out of nowhere one day but it only takes moments for student fall under his spell.
Cynthia's (Cyn's) best friend since childhood is totally gaga over the new librarian--seeming to walk around in a zombie-like daze. It takes a meeting with Mr. Gabriel for Cyn to realize something is wrong with their new librarian. She knows she has to save Annie from his clutches before it's too late.
Cyn is seemingly the only one immune to the evil charms of Mr. Gabriel; the trouble is--now he knows it.
As more and more students begin to walk around in the same zombie daze and when their principal has a heart attack and dies, Cyn decides that she must tell someone else. She turns to Ryan, a guy she has been crushing on. She realizes that she will probably sound like a crazy maniac but she must take the chance in order to save not only Annie but everyone in their school.
Although not totally convinced, Ryan has seen strange occurrences and agrees to enlist the help of an outsider. The two find a bookstore that houses a strange assortment of occult items. They get a quick lesson in demon capture and decide to take on Mr. Gabriel themselves.
Will Cyn and Ryan be able to stop Mr. Gabriel before he is too powerful to be banished? Will they be able to stop other demons from escaping into their school? Can they save Annie from the clutches of evil? Will Annie allow herself to be saved?
Weirdly rollicking on a sick thrill ride, Evil Librarian is great fun! Dastardly entertaining and enjoyable. YA readers will love this one!
Clever cover art depicts a library book complete with spine label and check out card pocket on the back cover. Librarians and library aficionados will laugh when they see the spine label. It says FICTION Central High School Library. Most libraries use F or FIC for fiction and all include the first three letters of the author's last name not the name of the school. How would anyone find this book in a real library?
Highly recommended for paranormal readers grade 9-up. Some misbehavior and demon hunting.
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If I have a weakness for genre fiction, it’s for books with main characters who are librarians. So "Evil Librarian" is going straight to my want-to-read list.
ReplyDeleteAnd in exchange for your review, I will trade a recommendation of my own, "The Ninja Librarians" by Jen Swann Downey.
Among training received by members of the Lybrariad, a secret society of “Ninja Librarians,” courses in stealth, deception, illicit entry,unarmed and armed combat take their place along cataloging, library organization, research skills, book repair and patron relations.
"The Accidental Keyhand," first book in Downey’s series, builds upon the premise of the library professional as a defender of intellectual freedom to create an appealing fantasy adventure.
This is a book alongside which "Evil Librarian" will hopefully soon take its place -- and it will, thanks to patron-hold through my public library.