Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Chris Grabenstein’s Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is a contemporary middle grade mystery first published in 2013. Twelve middle schoolers in the fictional town of Alexandriaville, Ohio, are the first to experience famous game maker Luigi Lemoncello’s new library during an overnight visit, complete with games, competitions, and trivia contests. The next morning, Mr. Lemoncello surprises them with a new game: the first to escape the library wins a valuable prize. The book won an Agatha Award for Best Children’s/YA Mystery in 2014, and it was named a Children’s Literature Assembly of NCTE Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts in the same year. This guide follows the 2013 Random House Children’s Books first edition.

Plot Summary

Twelve-year-old Kyle Keeley loves games of all kinds, especially the board games and video games created by beloved game maker, Mr. Luigi Lemoncello. As the story opens, Kyle plays an indoor-outdoor scavenger hunt game designed by Mr. Lemoncello. Kyle narrowly beats his two older brothers in the game but breaks a window doing so. Kyle is grounded for a week—including no games. Kyle’s friend Akimi Hughes asks him the next morning on the bus if he completed his optional essay for a school contest; the winners will be the first to visit the new, grand library in Kyle’s town of Alexandriaville, Ohio.