The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead
Product Details
Web ID: 17342789Highly recommend!!
This is a delightful story about a little free library that mysteriously appears in a small town, guarded by a large cat. A young boy finds two books in the library that intrigue him and end up changing his entire world. There are books, cats, ghosts, parents, and more covered in this entertaining and fun read. Highly recommended!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Amazing
This is a great book with a lot of good characters. I love the way that the stories goes along
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Sweet, heartwarming tale
Synopsis A little free library appears overnight in a small town starting off a series of events that will bring the townspeople together and spur eleven-year-old Even to dig into a town mystery from before he was born. My Overall Thoughts This is such a sweet, charming story. It has paranormal (though not scary) elements. Evan is just a compelling character. His interactions with his best friend, Rafe, his father, Al, and even the orange cat of many names are delightful. This book is just a soft, cozy blanket with pages! What I Didn't Love The story was somewhat predictable (I won't tell you which part and ruin it for you) Potentially Offensive Content Paranormal (friendly ghosts) What I Loved Evan is the kindest child ever Books! Libraries! Cats! Such a heartwarming story
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Prepare to fall in love with a whole town.
Sat down and pretty much read this in one sitting (with an hour break to get some work done). I'm not usually a fan of ghosty things, but this worked really well--the coziest of cozy mysteries that while set in spring, feels crazy autumnal. Maybe it's the orange cat, the bookish everything, the ghosts, and the fire on November 5 (well-chosen date there!) There's a delightful twist that I should have figured out the moment the first clue to its coming appeared but I didn't until about halfway through the book. It's an intelligent book for children and one I'll recommend to my bestekids! But more than all that, this is a book about family and community. The kids aren't all perfect, but they also aren't just horrible little selfish beasts like so many authors seem to love to write (pointing the finger at myself there!). There's a boy with overprotective parents and the kid actually shows respect for them despite it all. Older kids aren't always lording it over younger kids. And yet, this isn't an unrealistic sanitized world that feels like a moral lesson turned heavy sermon. It's not like that at all. It isn't even idealized. Instead, we just have a great story with wonderful characters, and a whole lot of hope and love wrapped up in a "what really happened?" sort of mystery. Plus a wonderful cat.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Imaginative!
For kids (and hey!... adults like me) who LOVE books. And libraries. And Little Free Library boxes. And for anyone who loves reading books ABOUT books. (>>> This is one of those really good ones.) I love the whole story of The Lost Library. It's fun, small-town adventure. Eleven-year-old Evan finds himself involved in unpacking the smoky mystery behind why the town library burned to the ground twenty years prior. If you can imagine that this poor boy (and all the other kids in town) are growing up WITHOUT A LIBRARY. Ugh. Wouldn't that be the worst for us book-lovers? So when a Little Free Library box appears on Evan's route to school, it's definitely something to go check out. As in, "check out" a couple of the books and take them home. But it turns out to be more than he bargained for, when it is those very books that start his mind whirring... and it kicks him into motion to search for more clues about the old library that used to exist, and why it is no more. Oh yeah, there's an orange cat with mice friends -- and some cozy library ghosts for company who get to read for eternity. (I'm not kidding. They also drink tea and eat cheese. Yes, I'm talking about the library ghosts.) Wanna join the fun? I think you should! I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley, but was not required to leave a positive review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Love Letter to Libraries
** “It’s about owning your truth, choosing the life you want, and the power of a good book (and, of course, the librarian who gave it to you).” ** Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass offer a delightful love letter to books and libraries in “The Lost Library,” a story kids of all ages will love. When a little library mysteriously appears outside the History House in Martinville, Evan McClelland decides to grab a couple of books from the collection, including one about how to write a mystery book. Inspired by it, he decides to try to figure out how the town’s library burned down in 1999, and does the book’s last person to check it out — H.G. Higgins, a famous author — have anything to do with it. As he follows the clues, he’s helped by his best friend Rafe, an enigmatic former assistant librarian named Al, and a six-toed orange cat named Mortimer. Will Evan be able to solve the decades old mystery and the secrets it holds? Stead and Mass create a lovely story filled with fun and adorable characters. They also include some great themes, like the impact of books and libraries; the fact that books shape us; being willing to search for the truth (“All of life is a mystery, in a way. And that makes every single one of us a detective”); and the importance of taking our place in the world. “The Lost Library” is due out Aug. 29. Five stars out of five. Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan, provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Good Middle Grade Mystery
I listened to the audiobook and I thought the story was nice. I appreciated multiple narrators and that the one, who voiced Evan's chapters, sounded "younger" than just a straight adult voice. Audiobooks are not my strong suit as I get distracted easily but I am working to build this skill. I focus better when I listen at the gym but it is still a struggle. All that to say that I think if I had read this book rather than listened to it, I would have enjoyed it more and rated it higher. That's a me thing and not a book/writer thing at all. I'll pick this up again and re-read it and see if I'm correct. Overall, this is a pretty good middle grade mystery book. I received a dARC (audiobook) from the publisher via Netgalley; this is my honest review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Cozy Mystery for All Ages
I loved this story! Although the book is for children, I found that people of any age can enjoy this book. The book left me laughing, intrigued and a little teary at the end.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com