Difference between revisions of "Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians"

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{{book
  
{{book
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|cover=Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Tor Hardcover.jpg
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|cover={{PAGENAME}}.jpeg
  
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|released=October 1, 2007
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|released=October 1, 2007 <small>(Scholastic)</small>,<br />February 16, 2016 <small>(Tor)</small>
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|series=[[Alcatraz]]
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|series=[[Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (series)]]
 
|sequel={{b|a2}}
  
|sequel={{b|a2}}
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|publisher=Scholastic Press
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|publisher=Tor books
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|ISBN=ISBN 0-439-92550-9
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|ISBN=978-0-7653-7894-1
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|page-count=287
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|word-count=[[/Statistical_analysis|58,233]]
 
}}
  
}}
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'''''Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians''''' is a juvenile fiction novel by [[Brandon Sanderson]], published in October 2007 by [[Scholastic]]. The book is named after its main character, Alcatraz Smedry.
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'''''Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians''''' is a [[Wikipedia:Young adult fiction#Boundaries between children's, young_adult, and adult fiction|middle grade]] novel by [[Brandon Sanderson]]. It is the first volume of the five-part series [[Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (series)|Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians]]. It was originally published by [[Wikipedia:Scholastic_Corporation|Scholastic]] in October, 2007. After Brandon bought back the rights to the series, it was published by [[Wikipedia:Tor_Books|Tor]] on February 16, 2016.
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== Plot summary ==
  
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'''''Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians''''' is a young teen novel which tells the story of [[Alcatraz Smedry]], a young teen who is always breaking things. After receiving a bag of sand for his thirteenth birthday, he stumbles into a strange set of events which begins with a group of [[librarian]]s stealing his bag of sand, which turns out to be rather unusual sand.
  
   
  +
== Synopsis ==
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The book starts with Alcatraz setting fire to his foster parent's kitchen. It is revealed that he has been sent to countless of foster parents, all ending up with Alcatraz "destroying" things that were precious to the people taking care of him. [[Ms. Fletcher]], Alcatraz's personal caseworker then arrives at his recent foster parent's home and scolds him about destroying his foster parent's kitchen and leaves.
  
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On his thirteenth birthday, foster child [[Alcatraz Smedry]] receives a bag of [[Sands of Rashid|sand]] in the mail, an inheritance from his lost parents. When it is immediately stolen, he learns that it is no ordinary bag of sand. With it, the evil [[Librarian]]s who secretly rule the [[Hushlands]]--Librarian-controlled nations, such as the United States, Canada, and England--will finally overtake the [[Free Kingdoms]] as well. Alcatraz and his ragtag band of freedom fighters must stop them, once and for all.
   
  +
== Summary ==
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The next day, however, an old man knocks on the door and claims to be his grandfather and tells Alcatraz that he has a special, but powerful talent for breaking things. He later finds out that there is a special force called the Librarians, whose purpose is to conquer the remaining [[Free Kingdoms|Free Kingdomers]] and rule the world.
  
  +
{{for|/Summary|a complete chapter by chapter summary}}
   
  +
Alcatraz Smedry is an orphan boy with a propensity for breaking things. On this thirteenth birthday, he receives a package, purportedly from his parents, containing his inheritance: a bag of sand. He also burns down his foster parents' prized kitchen.
−
== Characters ==
  
⚫
The plot of the book revolves around the title character and a small group of freedom fighters operating against the cult of evil librarians that secretly rule the world. These freedom fighters include Alcatraz's grandfather, [[Leavenworth]], usually just referred to as "Grandpa Smedry"; [[Bastille]], Grandpa's bodyguard and a Crystin Knight; [[Sing Sing Smedry|Sing Sing]] - Sing for short - Alcatraz's [[Mokia|Polynesian]] cousin; and [[Quentin Smedry|Quentin]], another cousin. The Librarians include Shasta / Ms. Fletcher, Alcatraz's case worker, who turns out to also be Alcatraz's mother, and [[Radrian Blackburn]], a [[Dark Oculator]].
  
   
  +
His case worker, [[Ms. Fletcher]], arrives and informs Alcatraz that he will be placed in yet another home the next day. Unbeknownst to Alcatraz, she is actually a Librarian and has stolen the sand.
⚫
== Smedry Talents ==
  
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In the course of the book, it is revealed that Alcatraz's biological family, the [[House Smedry|Smedrys]], all are born with amazing talents that they use to combat the evil cult of librarians.
  
   
  +
The next day, a loony old (but spry) man claiming to be his [[Leavenworth Smedry|grandfather]] shows up and asks about the sand. When he learns that a Librarian has stolen it, they hurry away to try to recover it. The sands are rare and can be forged into powerful [[Silimatic|Lenses]]. Alcatraz doesn't believe the man is his Grandpa, but he decides to go along with him after somebody shows up and tries to shoot him.
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Alcatraz has the talent of breaking things.
  
   
  +
Alcatraz meets two cousins, [[Sing Sing Smedry]] and [[Quentin Smedry]], who have the Talents of tripping and talking gibberish, respectively. Alcatraz learns that his penchant for breaking things is actually a powerful Talent that he can learn to control. They all decide to infiltrate the evil Librarian fortress (the local library) to recover the sand. [[Bastille]], a [[Crystallia|Crystin Knight]] about Alcatraz's age assigned to protect the Smedrys, is furious at such a reckless plan, but she has no choice but to follow along.
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Grandpa Smedry, Alcatraz's grandfather, has the power to arrive late to appointments. As such, he is always running behind the clock. But his power also allows him to arrive late to other things, like bullets, which always miss him, and his blood can arrive late to wounds so that he doesn't bleed to death. In his own words "I've been arriving late to my own death for years now."
  
   
  +
Sing creates a distraction by tripping and falling in the library, and the team heads into the employee entrance. They split up and search for the sands, but they are all eventually captured by the [[Dark Oculator]] [[Radrian Blackburn]] and Ms. Fletcher. While Grandpa is tortured for information, Alcatraz and the rest of his crew escape from their prison and go to help. Fortunately, Grandpa is using his Talent of arriving late to postpone the pain and Quentin is just talking gibberish, so nothing has been revealed so far.
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Sing, Alcatraz's cousin, has the talent of falling down at opportune moments. And, while it is admitted that this is less powerful than Alcatraz or Grandpa's talents, it allows Sing to make amazing diversions while the others slip by Librarian eyes undetected. Sing can also tell when danger is approaching by uncontrollably falling down.
  
   
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Alcatraz creates a distraction and rescues Grandpa, but Blackburn comes back, revealing that the Sands of Rashid have already been forged into Lenses. He and Grandpa have an [[Oculator]]'s duel, which Blackburn wins, but Alcatraz tricks Blackburn into using the Firebringer's Lenses on himself, allowing them to grab the Lenses of Rashid and escape.
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Quentin, another cousin, has the talent to speak gibberish or nonsensical phrases. His talent was beneficial after being captured by the librarians, as they could not understand him and thus could not gain important information from him, even through torture. It was through some of Quentin's supposed gibberish that Alcatraz was prompted to know what do to in future events.
  
   
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== Film Adaptations ==
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== Main Characters ==
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Dreamworks Animation SKG acquired the film rights to '''''Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians''''' in June 2008.{{bws ref|Two-Super-Huge-Announcements!|Brandon's announcement|date=2008-06-02}}
 +
{{image|Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Full.jpg|side=right|width=300px}}
  +
  ⚫
The plot of the book revolves around the title character and a small group of freedom fighters operating against the cult of evil Librarians that secretly rule the world. These freedom fighters include Alcatraz's grandfather, Leavenworth, usually just referred to as "Grandpa Smedry"; Bastille, Grandpa's bodyguard and a Crystin Knight; Sing Sing (Sing for short), Alcatraz's [[Mokia|Mokian]] cousin; and Quentin, another cousin. The Librarians include Shasta Smedry/Ms. Fletcher, Alcatraz's case worker, who turns out to also be Alcatraz's mother, and Radrian Blackburn, a Dark Oculator.
  +
  +
== Setting ==
  ⚫
=== Smedry Talents ===
  +
{{for|Smedry Talent}}
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In the course of the book, it is revealed that Alcatraz's biological family -- and those that marry into the family -- all have Talents that would normally be annoying and frustrating human weaknesses. For example, they include losing things, breaking things, being a bad dancer, and always arriving late. As the Smedrys gain control over their Talent, they can use them to great effect. For example, Alcatraz can break a gun pointed at him.
  +
  +
== Adaptations ==
  +
=== Film ===
  +
Dreamworks Animation SKG acquired the film rights to '''''Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians''''' in June 2008.{{tweet ref|22126792596787200|Alacatraz movie has seen better days|date=2011-1-3}}
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==Cover Gallery==
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{{for|/Covers|a cover gallery of Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians}}
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== Interior Art ==
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{{for|/Interior art|a gallery of the book's interior art}}
  +
  +
== Statistical Analysis ==
  +
{{for|/Statistical analysis|a full statistical analysis}}
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''Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians'' consists of one foreword, twenty chapters, and one afterword, reaching a total 58,233 word count.
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{|class="wikitable"
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|-
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! Word Count
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| style="text-align:center" | 58,233
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|
  +
|-
  +
! Page Count
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| style="text-align:center" | 306
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| Tor hardback
  +
|-
  +
! Chapter Count
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| style="text-align:center" | 20
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| Including foreword, and afterword.
  +
|-
  +
|}
   
 
== Notes ==
  
== Notes ==
 
<references />
  
<references />
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{{good}}
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{{meta/partial}}
 
{{Alcatraz}}
  
{{Alcatraz}}
 
{{books}}
  
{{books}}
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[[Category: Alcatraz| 1]]
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[[category: Alcatraz| 1]]

Latest revision as of 20:26, 21 July 2023

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians>
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Tor Hardcover.jpg
by Scott Brundage
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (series)
Precedes The Scrivener's Bones
Released October 1, 2007 (Scholastic),
February 16, 2016 (Tor)
Publisher Tor books
ISBN 978-0-7653-7894-1
Page Count 287
Word Count 58,233

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians is a middle grade novel by Brandon Sanderson. It is the first volume of the five-part series Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians. It was originally published by Scholastic in October, 2007. After Brandon bought back the rights to the series, it was published by Tor on February 16, 2016.

Synopsis[edit]

On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry receives a bag of sand in the mail, an inheritance from his lost parents. When it is immediately stolen, he learns that it is no ordinary bag of sand. With it, the evil Librarians who secretly rule the Hushlands--Librarian-controlled nations, such as the United States, Canada, and England--will finally overtake the Free Kingdoms as well. Alcatraz and his ragtag band of freedom fighters must stop them, once and for all.

Summary[edit]

For a complete chapter by chapter summary, see /Summary.

Alcatraz Smedry is an orphan boy with a propensity for breaking things. On this thirteenth birthday, he receives a package, purportedly from his parents, containing his inheritance: a bag of sand. He also burns down his foster parents' prized kitchen.

His case worker, Ms. Fletcher, arrives and informs Alcatraz that he will be placed in yet another home the next day. Unbeknownst to Alcatraz, she is actually a Librarian and has stolen the sand.

The next day, a loony old (but spry) man claiming to be his grandfather shows up and asks about the sand. When he learns that a Librarian has stolen it, they hurry away to try to recover it. The sands are rare and can be forged into powerful Lenses. Alcatraz doesn't believe the man is his Grandpa, but he decides to go along with him after somebody shows up and tries to shoot him.

Alcatraz meets two cousins, Sing Sing Smedry and Quentin Smedry, who have the Talents of tripping and talking gibberish, respectively. Alcatraz learns that his penchant for breaking things is actually a powerful Talent that he can learn to control. They all decide to infiltrate the evil Librarian fortress (the local library) to recover the sand. Bastille, a Crystin Knight about Alcatraz's age assigned to protect the Smedrys, is furious at such a reckless plan, but she has no choice but to follow along.

Sing creates a distraction by tripping and falling in the library, and the team heads into the employee entrance. They split up and search for the sands, but they are all eventually captured by the Dark Oculator Radrian Blackburn and Ms. Fletcher. While Grandpa is tortured for information, Alcatraz and the rest of his crew escape from their prison and go to help. Fortunately, Grandpa is using his Talent of arriving late to postpone the pain and Quentin is just talking gibberish, so nothing has been revealed so far.

Alcatraz creates a distraction and rescues Grandpa, but Blackburn comes back, revealing that the Sands of Rashid have already been forged into Lenses. He and Grandpa have an Oculator's duel, which Blackburn wins, but Alcatraz tricks Blackburn into using the Firebringer's Lenses on himself, allowing them to grab the Lenses of Rashid and escape.

Main Characters[edit]

by Scott Brundage

The plot of the book revolves around the title character and a small group of freedom fighters operating against the cult of evil Librarians that secretly rule the world. These freedom fighters include Alcatraz's grandfather, Leavenworth, usually just referred to as "Grandpa Smedry"; Bastille, Grandpa's bodyguard and a Crystin Knight; Sing Sing (Sing for short), Alcatraz's Mokian cousin; and Quentin, another cousin. The Librarians include Shasta Smedry/Ms. Fletcher, Alcatraz's case worker, who turns out to also be Alcatraz's mother, and Radrian Blackburn, a Dark Oculator.

Setting[edit]

Smedry Talents[edit]

For more information, see Smedry Talent.

In the course of the book, it is revealed that Alcatraz's biological family -- and those that marry into the family -- all have Talents that would normally be annoying and frustrating human weaknesses. For example, they include losing things, breaking things, being a bad dancer, and always arriving late. As the Smedrys gain control over their Talent, they can use them to great effect. For example, Alcatraz can break a gun pointed at him.

Adaptations[edit]

Film[edit]

Dreamworks Animation SKG acquired the film rights to Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians in June 2008.[1]

Cover Gallery[edit]

For a cover gallery of Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, see /Covers.

Interior Art[edit]

For a gallery of the book's interior art, see /Interior art.

Statistical Analysis[edit]

For a full statistical analysis, see /Statistical analysis.

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians consists of one foreword, twenty chapters, and one afterword, reaching a total 58,233 word count.

Word Count 58,233
Page Count 306 Tor hardback
Chapter Count 20 Including foreword, and afterword.

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ Alacatraz movie has seen better days
    — Twitter - 2011-1-3#
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