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Nov 20, 2016veetron rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
A book about a secret society whose membership is encoded within more secret books? And it all starts with an innocent little bookstore with a mysterious shop owner? Sign me up! I’m a sucker for books about books, hidden quests, adventures and mysteriousness. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore finds Clay, a young, jobless, graphic designer, desperate enough to take a job at a tiny little bookstore in San Francisco. Mysterious patrons come at odd hours to request strange books, and Clay begins to suspect his boss (Mr. Penumbra) is part of a bookish secret society. Not only that, but this society believes they have, encoded within their secret library, the secret to immortality! It’s all very secretive. The book is enjoyable, and what a premise for bookish, magical-realism lovers like me. However, despite these promising elements, Mr. Penumbra’s fell a bit short for me. One reason is that none of the characters really resonated with me. Clay is a bit too average (maybe the point? Everyday hero?) and whenever he comes across an obstacle in his journey, there are too many miraculous, far-fetched connections he makes to move it forward. Another (main) reason is Clay’s love interest and partner in adventure: Kat Potente. She’s pretty much the literary equivalent of a nerd’s fantasy girl: incredibly pretty, speaks in witty, short sentences, and wears a wardrobe made entirely of “Bam!” comic-style t-shirts. (Excuse me as I roll my eyes.) My main problem with Kat, though, is the fact that Clay (and other characters) believe entirely in her genius-level Google skills, which are apparently essential. Yet, all Kat seems to be able to do is, well, “Google” things. Which is pretty much what ANYBODY can do, right? Clay seems to be constantly in awe of how amazing she is...because she can type sets of words into a search engine? Because she has access to cool technology on the Google campus - but that's not her skills, that's her security clearance. And don't get me started on how at the first big "failure" the group encounters, Kat disappears from sight - she either gives up too easily, or has been using Clay as a boredom cure, or both. Anyways! Kat's character almost ruined the book for me. Despite her, though, it was still a fun read. The ending felt a bit anti-climactic, given how it started, but I understand this is the first in a trilogy. I liked this one enough to continue on with the next one to see how it turns out.