Janitors
Author: Tyler Whitesides
Series: Janitors (#1)
Publisher: Deserert Book Company
How Received: publisher ARC
Comes out August 3.
Have you ever fallen asleep during math class? Are you easily distracted while listening to your English teacher? Do you find yourself completely uninterested in geography? Well, it may not be your fault. The janitors at Welcher Elementary know a secret, and it s draining all the smarts out of the kids. Twelve year old Spencer Zumbro, with the help of his classmate Daisy Gullible Gates, must fight with and against a secret, janitorial society that wields wizard-like powers. Who can Spencer and Daisy trust and how will they protect their school and possibly the world?
Buy | Borrow | Brush Off
I don't normally read middle grade; this was one of those books that magically appeared in the mail against my will, but since it's here, might as well read it, right?
Janitors was a mildly adorable fantasy as far as fantasies go; I love the magical elements they used in the story. All of the creatures were interesting and I loved the way the magic worked. (So that's how brooms fly!)
I was impressed by the plot in the aspect that I did want to see what happened next, even if one of the big reveals of somebody being the bad guy was easy to figure out, at least for me. (Maybe the average MG reader will have a harder time figuring it out, but it's pretty obvious.) Besides that, I liked the going back and forth between who were the real bad guys or not.
I wasn't that impressed by the writing itself, but on the other hand, I'm not it's targeted audience.
The main characters were fun to read about; I loved Gullible Gates and Spencer's family made me grin. (The mom? BEST character.)
Final Comments: No rating because it's an MG, and therefore not what I normally read, but I thought it was cute; something I would definitley would have given my sister if she still read MG. (She prefers Sara Shepard's books.)