This book has been on my reading back burner for years, so when I picked it up, the yellow maze part of the cover had faded. Maybe if it hadn't, I would have known what to expect.
I was hoping "Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore," which can be read by adults and young adults, would be more "Harry Potter-ish." And it does start out this way, capturing the world of whimsy which turns out to be the magical bookstore of the title. The novel, written by a reader who obviously loves readers and reading knows that, for us, bookstores are magical places, and this is the best part of the book.
But, then it morphs into accelerated tech fantasy, pinning the merits of digitization against conventional print technology, suggesting there might be a place for both, which, to me, amounted talking out of both sides of the mouth, so that the whimsicality early on is almost banished, and I found it a struggle to finish the book.
Besides Harry Potter, what I expected was a more juvenile version of "The Shadow Of The Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Now, THAT was a fantasy book exploration narrative that held my interest all the way.
Those who are more tech savvy and interested in such will find this book more engaging than more traditional readers. The book does take one places, but not always where you wish it would go.
Read it, with caution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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