Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians

Ok, this is pretty much Harry Potter. In an alternate history, Librarians secretly rule the world, dishing out misinformation and shaping the world. Upon reaching his 13th birthday, Alcatraz Smedry is met with an interesting gift – a bag of sand – which draws him into this world of lies, odd abilities and glasses that have special powers.

A fun, short read meant for kids, but still a lot of fun. I love the idea that the main good guys all have special powers that all seem to be awful at first glance. Alcatraz's ability is that he can accidentally cause things break things. Not good when you're burning down your foster parents house, but rather useful when you break the gun that someone is point at you. His grandfathers ability is to arrive late has similarly useful applications, but listing too many would spoil things. It's fun to see how Sanderson takes these “useless” powers and makes them useful.