‘Evil Librarian,’ on my want-to-read list

If I have a weakness for a fiction “type,” it’s for books with main characters who are librarians.

From a review by Pamela Thompson among her Young Adult/high-school picks, Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen (Candlewick, 2014) takes its place on the list of books that I want to read.

Shortly after a new librarian shows up at Central High School, students begin walking around in a “zombie-like” daze. The protagonist, Cyn, and a guy she likes, Ryan, team up to take-on the “evil librarian.”

In her review, Thompson calls the book “Enticingly evil, freshly funny, winsomely wry, and eerily entertaining.”

As a library worker, I was amused by Thompson’s description of Matt Roeser’s cover design, which includes a book spine label and a library check-out card.

“Librarians and library aficionados will laugh when they see the spine label. It says FICTION Central High School Library. Most libraries use F or FIC for fiction and all include the first three letters of the author’s last name not the name of the school. How would anyone find this book in a real library?”

From Thompson’s description, from the book’s premise that involves a villain who is a librarian, Evil Librarian piqued my interest as a book that I want to read.

And for Thompson’s review, I will trade a recommendation of my own, The Ninja Librarians by Jen Swann Downey.

Among training received by members of the Lybrariad, a secret society of “Ninja Librarians,” courses in stealth, deception, illicit entry,unarmed and armed combat take their place along cataloging, library organization, research skills, book repair and patron relations.

The Accidental Keyhand, first book in Downey’s series, builds upon the premise of the library professional as a defender of intellectual freedom to create an appealing fantasy adventure.

This is the book alongside which Evil Librarian will hopefully soon take its place. And it will, thanks to a hold request filed through my public library.