Review: Mr Lemoncello's Library Olympics - Chris Grabenstein and Illustrated by Douglas Holgate
Review: Mr Lemoncello's Library Olympics - Book #2 Mr Lemoncello's Graphic Novels - Chris Grabenstein and Illustrated by Douglas Holgate - October 2025
I have to be honest with you, lovely readers, some books arrive at just the right moment and wrap around your heart like a warm hug from an old friend. Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics: The Graphic Novel was exactly that for me.
Growing up, the library wasn't just a place I visited ,it was my place. Every Saturday without fail, I'd be there, tucked into a corner with a stack of books taller than my good sense. And for years and years after that, it became my workplace too, five days a week right up until April 2021. The library was simply woven into the fabric of who I am. Sadly, due to some difficult and toxic circumstances in that workplace, I had to say goodbye to the physical library experience, something I never in a million years imagined I would do. Walking through those doors started to bring up feelings I didn't want to sit with anymore.
So these days, my reading life looks a little different: ARCs, ebooks, my beloved second-hand haunt Xanadu Book Exchange, and the ever-towering physical TBR pile that threatens to swallow my living room whole.
Which is why cracking open this book made my heart do a little leap.
Welcome, boys and girls and readers of absolutely all ages, to the first-ever Library Olympics! Kyle and his loveable teammates are back, summoned by the wonderfully eccentric game-maker extraordinaire Luigi Lemoncello himself and this time, teams from all across America have been invited to compete in his grandest event yet. But as with anything involving Mr. Lemoncello, nothing stays a simple game for long. Books are going missing from the library. Is someone trying to censor what these kids are reading? Suddenly it's not just about winning , it's about defending something far more important.
As someone who spent the better part of my life championing libraries and the books within them, this story felt deeply personal. The message at its core that books matter, that libraries matter, and that kids who love reading are worth celebrating , genuinely moved me.
The graphic novel format is bright, energetic, and perfectly matched to the adventure's zippy pacing. Young readers will devour it, and frankly, so will the grown-ups sneaking a read on the sly.
A joyful, clever, and quietly important little book. Highly recommended for all ages.
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