Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics

Kyle sees that the Mid-Atlantic and Mountain teams are also already racing to get to the copy of Flora and Ulysses. Once the other teams realize that three teams are on their way, they also send people to hover ladders. In the scramble, Marjory takes the hover ladder Kyle was headed to, and Kyle has to run to the end of the line of ladders to find one that is unoccupied, losing valuable seconds. As he lifts off, he sees that the Mountain and Mid-Atlantic teams are ahead of him; to his surprise, he hears Marjory typing in a new code mid-air, and her hover ladder moves to intersect with Kyle’s, forcing him to a stop. The Mountain team gets to the correct spot first, but the book is not where it is supposed to be. Mr. Lemoncello expresses shock. When Susana loudly proclaims, “This library is a disgrace” (169), Lemoncello sadly agrees.

Mr. Lemoncello awards the Mountain team their medal without enthusiasm and sends everyone home abruptly. The crowd is shocked at the change in atmosphere. The commentators for the Book Network’s coverage of the events recap the situation created by the Mountain team’s victory: Unless the teams that each have a single medal win both remaining challenges, the Mountain, Midwest, and Ohio teams are now the only teams with a chance to win the Library Olympics. The Southeast and Southwest teams have no medals and have been eliminated from contention.

Kyle’s team remains behind at the library with Lemoncello and Zinchenko, hoping to comfort Lemoncello. Lemoncello ignores his own rules and eats from a carton of birthday-cake ice cream while sitting in the fiction section. Zinchenko expresses confusion about where the missing book could be; she knows that it was in its place when she locked down the library before the competition began, and only the Library Olympians have had access to the stacks since then. Lemoncello says that it might be time to “find some more mature adults to run this place” (174). The holographic Lonni Gause appears and cries out that this is just like what happened before her library was bulldozed. All 10 copies of a history book disappeared, and then “[v]ery important people convinced the mayor to cut [the library’s] funding” (175). Kyle asks Lemoncello how he and his team can help. Lemoncello says that he needs to find his true champions, and Kyle promises not to let him down. When Kyle says that his team will win the final two medals, Lemoncello shakes his head and sighs.

On the ride back to the library in the morning, Sierra raises the possibility that Lemoncello really will shut down the library. Kyle points out that only one of the Library Olympians could have stolen the missing book, and the team realizes that this is part of what made Lemoncello so sad. Inside the library, Susana and her committee are picketing in a ring around the now-dry fountain containing the statue of Lemoncello. Susana is giving an interview, claiming that Lemoncello’s library contains inappropriate books like Walter the Farting Dog. The library is packed with spectators, including all the Ohio team’s families. Just as the team notices that the Wonder Dome is showing a beautiful video of hot air balloons, Lemoncello appears, dressed all in black. He shouts for the video to be stopped. He tells the crowd that he is disappointed because he once thought that this sixth day of the competition was when he would find his true champions. He tells Zinchenko to start the 11th game; he will be in his office working on clues for the “final and most important game” (180). Zinchenko announces that the 11th game will be about banned books.

Sierra expresses doubt when the team selects her for the competition, but the team cheers her on and she takes her place at the desks designated for the banned books challenge. Zinchenko announces that should there be a tie after the 12th game, there will be an additional 13th game. She reads the names of various banned books, such as Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic, and the contestants choose from multiple-choice answers explaining why each book was banned. One wrong answer eliminates a team from contention. Sierra answers the first two questions correctly. By the third question, only the Ohio team, the Mid-Atlantic team, and the Midwest team remain in the contest. Marjory and Sierra correctly answer this question, but the Mid-Atlantic team does not: The 11th game comes down to just the Midwest and Ohio teams.

Mr. Lemoncello returns to watch the end of the game; he seems to be in a much better mood, and Kyle notices that, although Lemoncello is still wearing all black, he has at least put on his banana shoes. He happily tells Zinchenko that he will take over for her, and he calls for the Midwest and Ohio teams to join Marjory and Sierra at their desks. Marjory says that she does not need her team’s help and sends them back to their position as spectators. Lemoncello says that the next question will not be multiple choice. Contestants will need to type in their answers. He asks, “On what date did the Dominican priest Savonarola…burn thousands of lewd books in Florence, Italy?” (189), Sierra immediately types in “SHROVE TUESDAY, 1497” (189). Dr. Zinchenko announces that this is the correct answer, but Marjory protests that this is a day, not a “date.” She reveals that her own answer is “February 7, 1497,” which is actually a date and should be considered the correct answer. When Zinchenko goes to find an encyclopedia to verify this answer, she finds that all the “S” encyclopedias have been stolen.

Marjory uses her smartphone to look up the correct date for the Bonfire of the Vanities and is proven correct. Susana shouts at the already upset and disappointed Lemoncello that he should be ashamed of how carelessly he runs the library. Lemoncello awards the “Yertle the Turtle” medal to the Midwest team. Kyle and his team comfort themselves with the hope that they can win the 12th game and force the competition into a tiebreaker. Clarence, one of the security guards, enters with a long list of missing titles. Lemoncello says that he is done trying to fight this battle alone. He suspends the competition, saying that the games are over. He has Zinchenko pass out a small orange “Go to College Free” card to each player on every team and promises that anyone who returns the card to him the next day will receive a full scholarship. Holding the little card in his hands, Kyle is impressed at how much money it represents. Still, he feels terrible for Lemoncello. He realizes that he would willingly trade his college scholarship for a way to fix things for Lemoncello and the library.

Susana, Charles, and Marjory are jubilant about their success. Marjory tells the League of Concerned Library Lovers that, with Lemoncello out of the way, they can run the library properly, as a “temple of learning” (200). Instead of heading back to the motel for the barbecue and ice cream the other contestants are returning to enjoy, Kyle’s team stays behind at the library to check on Lemoncello and Zinchenko. Kyle finds the empty library, with all its electronics turned off, melancholy: “Without people or laughter or learning, the domed building was just a fancy tomb filled with dry and dusty books” (201).

Lemoncello, Zinchenko, and Clarence are going over library records. They mention that one person seems to be responsible for all the missing books, having checked them out or stolen them over a month-long period. Lemoncello says that he has been aware of the problem this person was creating all along, and the 12th Library Olympics game was supposed to be about finding this man and getting the books back. Now that he knows one of the Olympians was helping the man, however, Lemoncello has lost hope. When Kyle hears this, he promises Lemoncello that he and his team will help. Lemoncello tells him that it would mean cooperating with the other teams, not competing against them. Saying that this is too much to expect from the Olympians, Lemoncello announces that the library games are over and that he will not attend the following day’s closing ceremonies. He is leaving town, and he will have paperwork drawn up to turn control of the library over to Susana and her committee. Kyle is horrified, and he says that he and his team do not need prizes, medals, or anything else—they are going to find the missing books and convince Lemoncello to stay in Alexandriaville as the head of the Lemoncello Library.

Late that night, Andrew overhears Woody, Marjory, and Susana having a conversation about the day’s events. Andrew realizes that Marjory is the one who stole the final copy of Flora and Ulysses. Marjory is proud of her role in getting the library into the hands of people who will run it more traditionally, but she sounds uncertain and upset when Woody tells her that she also “crushed [Lemoncello’s] spirit” (208). She is even more distressed to hear that Susana does not want the copies of Flora and Ulysses to be returned; Susana plans to purge the library of many titles, including this one. Susana mentions another book she intends to get rid of: Ohio River Pirates and Scallywags. She says that this book is filled with lies and “should once again be pulled from the shelves” (210). Andrew, listening in, is just as horrified as Marjory is: He realizes that he still loves libraries and hates the idea of book banning.