Alcatraz vs. the evil librarians

"On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry receives a bag of sand which is immediately stolen by the evil Librarians who are trying to take over the world, and Alcatraz is introduced to his grandfather and his own special talent, and told that he must use it to save civilization"--OCLC.

Thirteen-year-old Alcatraz Smedry and his companions seek Al's father and grandfather in the Great Library of Alexandria, where they face undead, soul-stealing wraiths called the Curators of Alexandria, and one of the Scrivener's Bones, a part-human, part-machine mercenary.

Thirteen-year-old Alcatraz Smedry and his companions seek Al's father and grandfather in the Great Library of Alexandria, where they face undead, soul-stealing wraiths called the Curators of Alexandria, and one of the Scrivener's Bones, a part-human, part-machine mercenary.

Although thirteen-year-old Alcatraz Smedry defeated the army of Evil Librarians and saved the kingdom of Mokia, the Smedry Talents are broken; his father is trying to ruin the world; and his best friend Bastille is still in a coma. In order to save Bastille, Alcatraz must get into the Highbrary--without his Talent to draw upon--and end the Evil Librarians permanently.

When Alcatraz and Grandpa Smedry make a pilgrimage to the Free Kingdom city of Crystallia, they are shocked to find the city under siege by the Evil Librarians--led by Alcatraz's own mother.

When a hero is needed to save the doomed kingdom of Mokia from the evil Librarians, thirteen-year-old Alcatraz Smedry, whose family talents include getting lost and breaking things, answers the call.