The Library of Ever Series

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Calling all library lovers!! Do you have a library lover in your house? I do. That is the first place Hazel wants to go when the stay-at-home order is lifted. She is missing walking around the books and finding new ones to read. The series of books I am sharing with you today is perfect for our young library lovers. The series is by Zeno Alexander.  They are full of fantasy as well as facts and history. The setting for this series is an amazing, magical library. The first book is The Library of Ever.

In this first book we meet Lenora. She seems like a spoiled and bratty 11-year-old. Her wealthy parents are off cruising the Mediterranean and Lenora is stuck in the city with a nanny who seems more interested in impressing her friends with the wealthy family's limo than watching Lenora. They stop at the library, and Lenora goes off to find a section she wants to look at and discovers a mysterious archway that has "Knowledge is a Light" above it.  This archway takes her to the Library of Ever where she gets hired as a librarian. The magic begins. There are robots and time travel. There is a giant globe she can actually walk on and visit all the parts of the Earth. There are also translators so she can talk to animals. 

To be honest I had a hard time getting into the first book. It was a little too farfetched for me and seemed to be written for a younger age group. I got part way through it, and then I decided to start the second book which was released at the end of April. I wanted to see if I liked it any better. The second book is Rebel in the Library of Ever. 

The second one takes place a year later. Lenora left the Library of Ever in the first book and has been trying to get back but cannot find the magical entrance. When she does there are all sorts of issues at the library. The board has put in place a new director who is getting rid of books besides the ones written by him and putting in computers in their place. Lenora realizes the dark forces have taken over and she must fight them to get the library back. Now the dark forces were introduced in the first book. I got into the second book right away. Perhaps it was that Lenora goes to look for the largest number and has some math in it. What can I say I am a former math teacher. I loved how the books share true facts including facts about the large numbers that have been discovered. After finishing the second book I returned to the first book and actually really enjoyed the rest of it. 

These books are fun and take the reader on a fantastical adventure. It is a world where robots can time travel and numbers are alive. There are even rooms in the basement for the lost knowledge. Oh and people can be in the Library of Ever for eternity as Lenora meets the head of the Library of Alexandria (which was destroyed around 272 AD). There are the dark forces that want to reduce the knowledge in the world so they can control the world. I love that message!! Knowledge fights the dark forces!! There are the patrons that seem to accept the word of the people in charge and there are the librarians who want to fight the dark forces and spread the knowledge of the world. And of course an 11 and then 12-year-old is the heroine. Spoiler alert: she succeeds with the help of the friends she makes along the way. Talk about strong messages we want our kids to learn. Think for yourself. Educate yourself with as much knowledge to decide what to believe and what is right. Get help from your friends. I know those are all messages I want Hazel to learn. I hope you will check out both of these great books and get more kids learning that "Knowledge is a Light."