Review Detail

What I Liked: This is the first time the story has been told from Bastille’s perspective. It was a good way to continue the story after the terrible events at the end of the fifth book that would make Alcatraz not wish to revisit this part in his autobiography. The story told from her perspective also allows him time to be in a catatonic state for a good portion of the book’s beginning. However, Bastille’s emotional range is a bit stunted so her solution to getting Alcatraz back in motion is to physically bully him into a coherent state. I’m not exactly sure that is the best way to present emotional recovery to Middle-Grade readers but to get the plot to move it worked fine and was consistent with the portrayal of her character throughout the series. The plot took dark turns with the fate of Alcatraz’s father and grandfather, but since this is a Middle-Grade book they mitigated the seriousness which aligns better with this humorous tale.
I enjoyed that Bastille has a literary license that she waves around when she wants to break the rules of writing and the illustrations add to the humor of an actual card she presents to readers. The fight scene when everyone gets Smedry talents is everything that I have come to enjoy in this outlandishly silly story. I am impressed that these authors have built a world system in which breaking gravity and then fighting floating sharks in the air seem feasible as well.
Final Verdict: This was a great conclusion to the Alcatraz series and it followed naturally that Bastille was the narrator. I especially enjoyed it when the talents were back. This book was a quick read with a very narrow focus to face Biblioden. I understand why Bastille’s character treated Alcatraz and his breakdown the way she did. It follows her established character traits and gets him involved in the story, but it was not my favorite part with the intensity of the situation presented. Overall, this has been a great series for the target audience and I have enjoyed the quirky Smedry talents and enjoyed the final way the question of who inherits the talents is resolved