This is book one in The Library series, about a magical library that helps spirits whose stories have been disrupted by supernatural events.  After Marcus finds the key that opens the door to the library, he is confronted by a creepy old lady who demands that he "Surrender the key." Along with his friends, Lu and Theo, Marcus must fight an ancient enemy and protect the library.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did an excellent job. The forward gave interesting information about the author and the other books in this series, complete with creepy laugh. The only slightly annoying part was when the narrator read for the librarian who has a Scottish accent. It was a bit distracting.

While this book was much shorter than what I'm used to, the length is perfect for young readers. I was a bit disappointed when it ended so soon. Middle grade readers will want more of this scary, thrilling adventure. Some may find they want to leave the lights on after reading, but the story is worth it.

This book has also been released as Surrender the Key. There is one more book in the series so far (Black Moon Rising), and book 3, The Oracle of Doom, will be released in October of this year. After reading this book, I am interested in checking out other series by this author including The Pendragon series, and The Morpheus Road series.

Has anyone out there read either of those or something else by MacHale?

Recommended to: Readers in grades 5-8 who are looking for a scary adventure series.

Marcus had a relatively normal life until he starts seeing some strange hallucinations. While at detention he hears a crash and sees a strange man with a key. When he goes to check it out he sees a bull and it starts to chase him but nobody else sees it. He tells his two friends and they don’t think he is crazy but they don’t know how to explain it.

Then more crazy stuff happens and he finds out who the ghost man in and goes to his wife’s house and finds out a few things like there is a key that his biological father wanted him to have and she gives it to him. This opens up a whole new world because when you put the key close to a door it opens up a different door and that is how he enters The Library.

The Library is pretty cool as it’s a library that holds unfinished books and it has agents who go about trying to finish them so the spirits can rest. So basically if someone is murdered and nobody figured out who did it then that book is still open until someone can figure out. Everyone has a book and spirits are always there taking down the notes that make up your book.

Marcus doesn’t really want anything to do with this Library but he really has no choice because a boggin is on the loose and it wants the key so it can destroy the library and it could be going after his family or friends. So Marcus, Lu and Theo have to try and figure out how to trap the boggin.

I really liked the characters and they were really an oddball sort of pairing which reminded me of my friend when I was young. Marcus is cool and he doesn’t let anything bother him. He stood up to a teacher for bullying and got detention and he thought it rocked. Lu is a rollerskater who loves doing the roller derby, and Theo is the smart and analytical one of the group. Theo has a hard time believing in the supernatural even when he sees it with his own eyes, I really like him. 

This was a really good introduction to this series about this fun and interesting library. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and following the adventure. I think this one is great for young readers who like fantasy adventure reads and for adults too. 

You know what makes a great book? Authors who aren’t afraid to get dirty; authors who don’t hold back on tragedy. This is especially true in adventure books — if your characters are frequently put in dangerous situations, bad things should happen. Yes, maybe they’re able to get out of those bad situations and rise above it, but it shouldn’t be easy for them. D.J. MacHale is one author who definitely doesn’t hold back and definitely doesn’t make it easy for his characters in the final battle.

I am very satisfied with the conclusion of this series. All the characters showed tremendous growth and the final battle was pretty awesome. MacHale did some careful planning with this series, because I noticed things that tied back to clues given in previous books, which was fun. This is the point I was waiting for throughout the entire series, and like I said, MacHale doesn’t hold back. The stakes are high and it gets dangerous for Bobby and his friends.

The only thing I didn’t like was the explanation of what makes them all Travelers and how the gates were formed. I know it’s a fantasy/science fiction novel, but it was just a little too far-fetched for me. I’m not going to go into detail due to spoilers, I’ll just say that I think there could be far better explanations to the one MacHale chose.

However, this was a satisfying ending. It got kind of shaky for me around book 6 (The Rivers of Zadaa), but I continued with it because I was invested in the characters by that point. Around book 8 (The Pilgrims of Rayne), I was feeling it again, and now I’m glad I stuck with it. Soldiers of Halla is a great book full of excitement, danger, adventure, friendship, and everything that I love about the Pendragon series. Honestly, I think it’s the best book of the series because the stakes are raised so high and the characters really have to struggle.

I recommend this entire series to lovers of young adult adventure/fantasy. They’re imaginative, exciting books that don’t disappoint.

My week was so bad, there isn't even enough for a post.

I read nothing this week!!!!! *sigh*

I'm working tonight again so less time to read, but i am feeling slightly better and have some energy back :]

For this weekend:

1. Never Fade - I've read maybe 35 pages, i just didn't feel like doing anything this week.

2. Strike - I'm anxious to see how this series ends!

3. Gone Girl - Finally got to check this out, i've read almost 10%, and i really like it so far :]

In reality i'll be happy if i even get any reading done this weekend, i might not even get any books from the library tomorrow.

"This Too Shall Pass"

 How was your week?? Anyone have an awesome thanksgiving??