Not as good as the original. Mr. Limoncello does *not* play fair in this one.

After their big win in Mr. Lemoncello's escape game, Team Keeley is challenged by basically every kid in the country. They all want their chance at stardom (starring in commercials for Mr. Lemoncello games) and are unhappy that the contest was so localized. So Mr. Lemoncello grants them their wish, because hey, that means he gets to create more games! The top teams in each region of the country are chosen and invited to Ohio to compete for full college scholarships--against Kyle's team. The only problem is that Kyle isn't so sure he's up to the challenge this time.

After the pure fun I had with the first book, I knew this wouldn't be able to be quite the same. For one thing, it's not so much with the escape room aspect anymore. There are puzzles involved in the games, but it's not nearly the same as it was in the first book. However, it's still a fun read, and even has a bit of mystery. So while I didn't quite enjoy it as much as I did the first book in the series, it was still good.

For all the similarities to Willy Wonka in the first book, this had even more. Including a particular bit that I guessed at from early on, comparing a character to a role in Roald Dahl's book. Even still, though, the book did keep me guessing a bit as I waited to see if I was right. And unlike the "justice" in Wonka's world, it's nice to see some of the "bad" kids have a change of heart by the end of this book.

In my review of the first book, I mentioned that it was unrealistic how much knowledge some of these kids have--Kyle is about the only one who doesn't come across like he lives and breathes books and studying. That was much more noticeable this time. Still overall, it's a good book, fun for kids, and I continue to recommend it for kids around 8-12 and for parents, especially those who like games. ( )

The world-famous game maker Luigi Lemoncello is at it again! This time Mr. Lemoncello has invited teams from across America for the first-ever LIBRARY OLYMPICS. Kyle Keeley knows that the competition is fierce! But something suspicious is going on--books are missing from the shelves! Is someone trying to censor what the kids are reading? Now it's not just a game, and Kyle and his friends will have to band together to get to the bottom of this mystery. Let the games begin!

A good follow-up to the original, Library Olympics addresses some of the things that annoyed me in the last book. Of course kids everywhere would be jealous that Kyle and his friends got this awesome adventure while they didn't even get a chance; even Kyle's friends find him annoying sometimes (now if only people found Sierra and her know-it-all, pretentious attitude annoying too...); Haley, who wasn't the best character, isn't even in this one; everyone gets a chance to show off their hard-earned skills and contribute (the medal competitions were really interesting, and while sometimes the winner was clear, other times it was fun to find out).

The character development was a little lacking again, though. Kyle's still the same hyper-competitive sore loser, Michael (or Miguel?) and Akira have no traits other than "supportive best friend," and new "villain" Marjorie is too much of a stick in the mud to be believable as a pre-teen (someone that age, even as obsessed with Dewey Decimal numbers as her, would not have nearly as many objections to the library as she does - they're very much the objections of an older adult).

The twist reminded me of The Westing Game a little, and I'm always a sucker for a fun mystery. ( )

One of the books I listened to with my son. The premise is interesting and my son loved it. It woke up his interest to read with me some of the books mentioned throughout.

As an adult reader I found the transformation of some unpleasant characters in the book really unbelievable and the ending was so Hollywood. If it keeps kids interest in reading, however it is good. ( )