A review by racham1123
Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race by Chris Grabenstein

adventurous informative lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

[I noticed on the second book, I marked it as being "Audio book #5".  I can tell you now, my audiobook journey has excelled and I have no idea what number this book is.]

^ That being said, the riddles and puzzles weren't as hard for me listening this time around.  But, also, that might be because (I don't think) there were as many as the previous two books have had.  This installation is all about, doing the research.  Sure, there are still some riddles and puzzles here and there, but I think they are sprinkled throughout the book more so than being a primary part of this book. 

Like I said, this book is all about the facts! It's actually a pretty good message for kids.  It really emphasizes the consequences of jumping to conclusions or taking the easy way out.  It also teaches you that researching your work doesn't have to be boring and a lot of good can come out of doing the work. Also! This book is chalk full of information.  I mean, all the Lemoncello books have a lot of book stuff in them, but this one- being based so much in fact finding- brings a lot of non-fiction to the plate too.

Mr. Lemoncello is just as interesting as usual.  He's a fun character. 
This book is a super quick listen.  It's easy enough to get into, especially if you're doing some idly on the side (walking, driving, cooking etc.) Now, since this one was more non-fiction based the formula was a little different so though it was still interesting I don't know that it was my preferred method. Again, I love all the messages it sends and I think it's a great kids book.

My Problems? I'm a thirty something year old who has been listening to a lot of true crime podcasts recently.  So, when those two detectives completely just dismiss Kyle and his friends in regards to Mr. Lemoncello's innocence- I did not think "oh, this is the classic 'grown ups never listen to kids' deal. Instead I was thinking 'this is some shitty police work', 'you're not being a very good detective', 'this is what's wrong with the legal system', or 'ANOTHER BOTCHED CASE BECAUSE OF IGNORANCE, thank god no one was MURDERED'.  

Also, because I'm a "grown up", I 100% believed that little girl was a the spy (name excluded for spoilers).  Literally all the way up until the point where she said "I'm not a spy". 😂😂 But, as soon as she said that I went, "Oh it's ____" and it was, lol. 

Though I appreciated the permission slips, it's kind of curious that they cover SO MANY THINGS, including getting on a plane and flying to Missouri? 🤔😂

Also the Krinkle brothers literally saying their entire plan so easily was, well, too easy. Kudos for them thinking about editing the websites from a Lemoncello library computer- though this was easily untangled by the kids.  But again, it's a kids book.  It's not supposed to be hard.

At times I didn't know what I was picturing.  Is it a hologram? Is something physically supposed to be in front of me? I think I chalk that up to such high concentrations of creativity and this being an audiobook.  For me that is.  Visual person, remember? 

Anyway, I would still probably listen to the next one, from the library, if nothing else was available.
And, I absolutely would recommend it to younger kids. It's fun. After all, helloooooo, It's a Lemoncello!
(props to the narrator, really loved them).