Source: Downloaded from B&N.com
LendMe Status: Available!
From the synopsis: "...Haly is a Libyrarian, one of a group of people dedicated to preserving and protecting the knowledge passed down from the Ancients and stored in the endless maze of books known as the Libyrinth. But Haly has a secret: The books speak to her."
We've heard a lot of 'jokes' lately about the future of physical books, libraries and of reading, and this novel really put a different spin on these often foreboding predictions. The novel takes place in a futuristic society, but yet all that's survived is the books from our world. Some of the races have technology and electricity but others do not. This creates a "powerful" group and other subservient groups that is often common in fantasy or sci-fi novels. But, more importantly it's a comment on permanence and importance of the written word. I did not fail to note the irony in the fact that I read this novel on an eReader... :)
One of my favorite parts of this book is the way the author used quotes from the books that speak to Haly in the Libyrinth. They were integrated so well and such appropriate choices, the books really became another character instead of just a prop sitting on the table. The quotes acted as informative, serious, and sometimes funny interjections by these other "characters" that we knew from their own tales. Many of the quotes came from Anne Frank's diary which I thought was very interesting. The author used the connections between the themes in Anne Frank's diary and the story she was creating to further explain the oppression of the illiterate races as well as the beauty Anne found in life to support the story's claims that all races should work together and live in harmony. This, especially, worked very well I thought. Another key point to mention is that for the intended audience, I imagine many would be familiar with the diary and be able to connect with this story on another level because of it.
In the same way the author tied in quotes from the books in the Libyrinth, she tied in the events from our recent history integrated as events that the Ancients went through. The first few events that were mentioned, I sort of had to stop myself and think - oh yeah, this is supposed to be "Earth" just in the future, the world the author creates was so vivid and different from others I've experienced.
Although this novel was intended for a Young Adult audience, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am very glad I picked it up. It is definitely appropriate for YA readers, yet engaging and "adult" enough for anyone. It is a must read for librarians and anyone who loves to read! :)
This book was downloaded from Barnes & Noble and has LendMe capabilities. If you're interested in this ebook, and have a Nook - leave a comment with your email, and a title you're willing to trade, and I'll send it your way!
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