Author: Chris Grabenstein
Illustrator: Douglas Holgate with colors by Marta Todeschini
© Date: 2023
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 249
Chapters: No, but has breaks where scenes change
Illustrations: Yes, graphic novel
Publisher Recommended Age: 8-12 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: No
Summary from Book: You’re invited to the world’s greatest escape game!
When Kyle learns that the world’s most famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, has designed the town’s new library and is having an invitation-only lock-in on opening night, he’s determined to be there! But the tricky part isn’t getting into the library-it’s getting out. Because when morning comes, the doors stay locked! Kyle and the other kids must solve every clue and figure out every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route! Will there be laughs? Yes! Will there be surprises? You bet! Will it be fun? Hello, it’s a Lemoncello!
Page Pig Thoughts: Mr. Lemoncello as a graphic novel makes me feel a bit like my favorite book was turned into a movie. Some slight alterations were made, but the overall story remained true to the original. I could bemoan that characters didn’t look like I imagined or certain details are left out, but those sorts of issues fall into the favorite book being made into a movie category. You never really know what you are going to get, but that doesn’t mean that the new version isn’t good in its own way.
Since you can read my review of the Mr. Lemoncello novel (review), I will not go into overly many details here. I personally prefer the novel version, but the graphic novel version is still good because “Hello, it’s a Lemoncello.” Page Pup has read this version more than once, so it is a worthy read.
Family Unit: Kyle Keeley lives at home with his two older brothers, mother, and father. Most of the story takes place in the library, so family life is really only a thing for the beginning of the book.
Conflict/Social Issues:
- Charles Chiltington is willing to step on anyone it takes to win and is not above cheating.
- Twelve 12 year olds are trying to put together the clues to escape from the library.
Positive Items:
- Putting together the clues is still fun.
- Kindness, good teamwork, and good sportsmanship are the keys to Team Kyle’s success.
Items of Interest:
- The reason for the original Alexandriaville public library closing was mentioned as the internet making it obsolete.
- Inflation seems to have hit the gift cards for the essay winners, now they have $1000 gift cards. What they do with them remains the same.
- As to be expected, some details of the book are not in this version. Some details are in clues, some are in character development. For example, Andrew Peckleman’s jealousy/chip on his shoulder about Miguel Fernandez is still there, just not sure how clearly it plays out if this is the first Mr. Lemoncello book that you read.
- Some of the clues are slightly modified. For example, Marie Kondo is now one of the author statues and Saint Francis of Assissi is the hologram with the police siren wailing raven.
- Since everything is in picture form, sometimes I didn’t feel like the written out versions of the clues were easy to follow.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- No other graphic novels at this time, just the novels (review)
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