Libyrinth [Hardcover]

Pearl North (Author)

Book Description

Series: Libyrinth | Publication Date: July 7, 2009

In her debut novel, Pearl North takes readers centuries into the future, to a forgotten colony of Earth where technology masquerades as magic and wars are fought over books.

Haly is a Libyrarian, one of a group of people dedicated to preserving and protecting the knowledge passed down from the Ancients and stored in the endless maze of books known as the Libyrinth. But Haly has a secret: The books speak to her.

When the threat of the rival Eradicants drives her from her home, Haly learns that things are not all she thinks they are. Taken prisoner by the Eradicants, who believe the written word to be evil, she sees the world through their eyes and comes to understand that they are not the book-burning monsters that she has known her entire life.

The words of a young girl hiding in an attic—written hundreds of years before Haly’s birth—will spark the interest of her captors and begin the change necessary to end the conflict between the Eradicants and Libyrarians. With the help of her loyal companion Nod, a creature of the Libyrinth, Haly must mend the rift between the two groups before their war for knowledge destroys them all. Haly’s life—and the lives of everyone she knows—will never be the same.

A powerful adventure that unites the present and future, Libyrinth is a fresh, magical novel that will draw in young readers of all genres.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Despite her seemingly humble role as a library clerk in a forgotten colony, Haly is the keeper of a remarkable secret. In a world in which books are both revered and feared, she has the power to hear the words of the tomes around her. When a rival group called the Eradicants, who believe that the books are evil, plots to destroy the ancient library where she lives and works, Haly is forced to make difficult choices to protect the lives of those around her. This debut novel is based on the premise of librarians as the protector of knowledge, defending literature from those who have abandoned the written word. With many references to well-known young adult works (listed in an appendix), particularly Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, the author tries to create a world of magic, adventure, and mystery. Some of the faster-paced scenes have the potential to captivate readers, but becoming completely absorbed in the story is a challenge. How well this book succeeds will depend on whether teenagers are able to bond with the main character, and how much interest they have in the world of librarians.—Caryl Soriano, New York Public Library END

Review

“Among this novel’s pleasures are the many anonymous quotations scattered throughout, snatches of prose that Haly hears as she goes about her chores, from such sources as Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl, Charlotte’s Web, and Fahrenheit 451, all of which are carefully identified at the end. The complex moral issues posed by this thoughtful and exciting tale are just as fascinating.” —Publishers Weekly

“An interesting twist on the themes of societal opposition and integration, and perhaps an intriguing companion to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.” —Booklist

“Twists, turns and two resourceful heroines. I enjoyed getting lost in the Libyrinth.” —Maria V. Snyder, bestselling author of Fire Study

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Tor Teen; First Edition edition (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765320967
• ISBN-13: 978-0765320964
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,507,072 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get lost in the Libyrinth, July 22, 2009

By 

Alexandra Cenni "Poisoned Rationality" (hamilton, nj USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Libyrinth (Hardcover)

Pearl North is the pseudonym of another author, but this is apparently her first young adult novel. Thought I'd make that distinction since on Amazon it claims its from a debut author, technically true, but not really.

For a book nut like myself Libyrinth was a really fun read--the book has dozens of quotes from all sorts of famous literary works (The Diary of Anne Frank, Tale of Two Cities, Life of Pi) and technical manuals (Glenn's Complete Bicycle Manual). For the most part the quotes correspond almost perfectly with the current situation in fact, making me look at the quotes I could recognize easily with a different perspective. More than that though, North gives each book a distinct personality. Theselaides for instance is a bully and Anne Frank has a softer, gentler voice. Some are loud, some are high pitched, and some have a dark feeling to them.

I suppose its every book-lover's dream to live in a cavernous dwelling with so many books and shelves that one could literally become lost forever. The Libyrinth as a place sounded so perfectly suited to me that like Haly I found myself utterly hating the Eradicants (Singers) on principle alone. I can't begin to fathom a mentality that believes to liberate a book you have to burn it, but on the other hand I can't believe that as a people they wouldn't want to share their knowledge.

Haly was undoubtably my favorite character, but I grew to find Nod a really funny character. A revealation closer to the end made me want to go 'ew ew ew', but it made sense within the characterization of Nod and his attitude. I found myself tense and irritated by her friend Clauda, who seemed to be more interested in bungling around then forming a plan for much of the book. Impulsive is probably how best to describe Clauda until a major setback forces her to think long and hard. Selene by comparison ran hot and cold with me, depending on how she was acting in a situation. She was kind of contradictory--on the one hand not wishing to be Queen and on the other disliking her mother for not spending more time with her and extreme in her judgements.

The book begins with Haly, Clauda and Selene together before they venture out and then branches off to follow either Haly's adventures with the Eridicants or a combination of Selene and Clauda's adventures in Selene's homeland. The stories then separate farther as Clauda and Selene separate, but finally converge at the climax. The big Redemption the Eradicants believe in.

Its hard to put down, I won't lie. I read it during my Otakon trip and repeatedly found myself wanting to carry it with me even though it wasn't feasible with my plans. I wanted to snatch moments whenever I could to find out what mysteries Clauda uncovers or debates of religion Haly engages in. The end is satisfying and appropriate--in the beginning I wouldn't have thought it possible, but after everything Haly learns and experiences (as well as everyone else) I felt it was the only viable option left to save their civilization.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars original but lacking, January 1, 2010

By 

JN (NYC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Libyrinth (Hardcover)

I like Pearl North's writing and the originality she brings to the story is what sold the book to me. I also like that the three protagonist girls are divided into straight, gay, and single. What I don't like is the banality of the story itself. I bought this on Kindle and tried the sampler first, it's impressive but from there on the story just gets awkward and less interesting, it becomes a story-told-before. Pearl North has a steady voice, her writing is simple and flows well, but she writes like she's not a people-person. The characters are flat. I never fell in love with them, I never felt any real sympathy/empathy/emotion towards any of them, she could have killed them all. The romance was lame and of course it was for the straight girl (originality out the door). And then the ending lacked grace and the injected violence was awkward. This story had potential, I was hoping for a book with a female protagonist and an adventure that hadn't been written before. It had all the premises of one, but it disappointed. I'd give two stars for the story but it gets three for original ideas, heroines and easy reading.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Well Done YA Debut!, July 25, 2009

By 

S. S. White "Calico Reaction" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Libyrinth (Hardcover)

The premise: Haly is a clerk in the Libyrinth, a library so big and so vast that people get lost and are never heard from again. Haly's got a particular talent in that she can hear the voices of books, literally. When she's close, the book in question tells its story to her and only her. This makes her role to protect the books even more personal when the Eradicants make their yearly pilgrimage to the Libyrinth to burn volumes of books. When Haly learns of a plot that will allow the Eradicants to burn every volume left in the Libyrinth, she'll do anything to stop it. But what happens next opens Haly's eyes to a world she's never known or understood, despite growing up with the voices of books guiding her her entire life. Not only does she learn who the Eradicants really are and what they really believe in, but she learns what her true purpose in life is. That purpose could unite the world if she plays her cards right, or destroy it if she lets others make her decisions for her.

My Rating: Must Have: what starts out as a deceptively and almost irritatingly simple book about the dangers of censorship blossoms into something much more complex and engaging once you hit the POV switch. The pace is fast through-out, but I found myself more invested as Pearl North allowed her characters to learn more about the world and the cultures that populated it, and how all of those cultures influenced the Libyrinth itself. Truly North does a fantastic job crafting not one, but two likable and relatable heroines in Haly and Clauda, both of whom have a more important story than merely falling in love with a boy (though one of them does, indeed, fall in love with a boy, that's not the POINT of her particular story). North also does a marvelous job creating not one, not two, but three separate and distinct cultures that have their own values and faiths that come across as believable and real and not one dimensional (though one of the cultures seems one dimensional from the start--bear with the book, you'll be glad you did). But one of the best things Pearl North does with this book is incorporate passages of books into the text, to the point said passages become a kind of commentary on what's happening or what's about to happen. Particularly impressive is North's use of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, and how it plays into the climax of the story, which is also very well done. I'll be more than happy to pick up the second book in this trilogy, though this book is tied up so well that I'm left wondering just what exactly a second book would be about! Whatever it is, I look forward to it. North has impressed me with her YA debut, and I think she'll impress you as well.