Experimented with a fantasy book and liked it!
3.75 out of 4 stars.
Clay Jannon just got laid off due to the recession. He is desperate to find something to pay the bills so when he sees a sign for “help wanted” at a supposed 24 hour book store he is intrigued. He had never heard of a store that sold literary to have such an odd line-up of hours. Little did he know that was not the only odd attribute he would discover with Mr. Penumbra and his shop. Clay fortunately gets hired and starts to settle in with his night shift, 10 PM to 6 AM at night. He gets very little customers come in but when they do they treat the place like a library and “check out” instead of purchase. Mr. Penumbra is okay with this as long as they show their membership ID and Clay writes down a description about them. He starts to get antsy to figure out what the hidden behavior is all about and begins to investigate along with the help of some of his friends.
The readers take a very windy and long drop down the rabbit hole with Clay and Mr. Penumbra and it is clever, charming, and as well pieced together as it can be. Although wacky, it was not abrasive or confusing. I felt right at home in this bizarre world. Robin Sloan did a fabulous job of making the writing style comprehensible while pushing the imagination. I would recommend to young adult or adult because it would appeal to large range of ages.
Books I have read that remind me of this one: Harry Potter, Ready Player One, and The Circle (since this book references Google quite a bit).
