Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

 
 
 

Published by Random House Books for Young Readers

Nominated by Melissa Fox 

Kyle and eleven other students from his school win a chance to enter the new library designed by Mr. Lemoncello, a world-famous game creator, before anyone else. The library promises to be a fantastic, magical place. While there, the students are invited to enter a race to see who can be the first person to escape from the library. The winner will become the spokesperson and the face of Mr. Lemoncello's game company, and become rich. Kyle and his best friend immediately team up to search for clues. They visit rooms arranged by the Dewey Decimal System and read  through many of the books. Their main rival is a mean, self-centered boy who will do anything it \takes to win. The race is on!

Mr. Lemoncello reminded me a lot of Will Wonka. He's a bit eccentric and a playful character. He constantly quoted book titles when he spoke and dressed up in unusual costumes. I enjoyed the references to other books. The clues referred to trivial information from history, book numbers and titles, and rebus puzzles. It was nice to see the goodness of Kyle's character as he interacted with other characters and tried to win the contest. The joy of reading is a main theme of the book.