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Janitors #3
Curse of the Broomstaff
A secret society of Janitors with wizard-like powers continue their battle, and now, the stakes are even higher. The Bureau of Educational Maintenance is after Alan Zumbro and this time they mean business - deadly business. Spencer, Daisy, and their little team of rebels must find the source of all magical Glop and destroy it before it can destroy the world as we know it. No small task with the BEM and their monster toxites at their heels. It's a wild and dangerous ride as they follow the trail of clues all the way to the hiding place of the mysterious aurans: guardians of a secret landfill. What they discover there will change the way Spencer sees himself, not to mention the fate of the rebels.
356 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2013
49 people are currently reading
1378 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews
September 23, 2013
This book was incredibly enjoyable.
It was penned by Tyler Whitesides, a friend of mine who I've known for almost three years. I remember back when his first book was in its early stages of the publishing process. A friend showed me the cover of his book, and we became friends with him, talking to him through Facebook, following up on his posts, and eagerly awaiting the release of his first book. JANITORS, it was called. Finally, it was released, and I read it in a night. I remember showing up to his signing and he immediately said "Matt!" when he noticed I was standing in his signing line amongst a row of what might have been 30 or 40 10-year-olds. Needless to say, I felt like a giant in a sea of dwarves. Which is saying a lot, since I'm kind of short compared to most people.
I enjoyed JANITORS a lot. The second book came out a year later, and I didn't get around to reading it until earlier this year, but I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first one.
Then this one came out, and it bested the other two. Like, by a lot.
The stakes have been raised in CURSE OF THE BROOMSTAFF. The writing has also gotten better, the story is tighter, and yes, there is still humor in it, as with the first two. These books always make me giggle in the appropriate places.
I feel like I was generous, giving the first two books 5 stars. This one definitely deserves it.
The JANITORS series, and Tyler, deserve more attention. But I won't let it get too popular -- I still have to be able to hang out with my buddy before they start making film versions of his books!
If you've got kids, JANITORS is definitely a good book to read to them before they go to bed, or for themselves to read and discover that it can actually be fun. Even coming from a 16 year old who reads mostly adult fantasy and science fiction, I can say that JANITORS is fun for people of all ages.
If you like middle grade humor and fiction, these are definitely the books for you. Heck, if you like reading in general, you'll probably like them.
So, uh . . . go out and buy them.
And yeah.
Later.
-Matt
It was penned by Tyler Whitesides, a friend of mine who I've known for almost three years. I remember back when his first book was in its early stages of the publishing process. A friend showed me the cover of his book, and we became friends with him, talking to him through Facebook, following up on his posts, and eagerly awaiting the release of his first book. JANITORS, it was called. Finally, it was released, and I read it in a night. I remember showing up to his signing and he immediately said "Matt!" when he noticed I was standing in his signing line amongst a row of what might have been 30 or 40 10-year-olds. Needless to say, I felt like a giant in a sea of dwarves. Which is saying a lot, since I'm kind of short compared to most people.
I enjoyed JANITORS a lot. The second book came out a year later, and I didn't get around to reading it until earlier this year, but I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first one.
Then this one came out, and it bested the other two. Like, by a lot.
The stakes have been raised in CURSE OF THE BROOMSTAFF. The writing has also gotten better, the story is tighter, and yes, there is still humor in it, as with the first two. These books always make me giggle in the appropriate places.
I feel like I was generous, giving the first two books 5 stars. This one definitely deserves it.
The JANITORS series, and Tyler, deserve more attention. But I won't let it get too popular -- I still have to be able to hang out with my buddy before they start making film versions of his books!
If you've got kids, JANITORS is definitely a good book to read to them before they go to bed, or for themselves to read and discover that it can actually be fun. Even coming from a 16 year old who reads mostly adult fantasy and science fiction, I can say that JANITORS is fun for people of all ages.
If you like middle grade humor and fiction, these are definitely the books for you. Heck, if you like reading in general, you'll probably like them.
So, uh . . . go out and buy them.
And yeah.
Later.
-Matt
August 19, 2020
We listened to the audiobook on a long road trip we recently took. The kids loved it and it kept me engaged, but the further we get into this series the more it starts to sound like other series I have read. This was still a fun book though.
October 12, 2016
It was a really good book. I learned a lot about the characters and I want to see how everything will unfold in the last few books.
March 29, 2018
Spencer, with his group of rebel janitors, are trying to find the Aurans to destroy the source of all the toxicites. The Aurans are the people that monitor each janitor, and are very powerful. When they finally find them, the group asks the Aurans if they will lead them to the source of the toxicites. Through their journey they encounter many dangerous things, but were able to get past them. When the Aurans finally led the group to the source, they found out that Spencer was also an Auran and thought he was too powerful to be free. So they tried to take away his powers. Luckily, Spencer and the rebel janitors were able to escape from the Aurans.
The theme of the book "Janitors: Curse of the Broomstaff" by Tyler Whitesides is power can be deceiving. Spencer, the main character in the book, is an Auran and has amazing powers. In the book, the other Aruans find out that Spencer is an Auran and is very powerful. Because he was so powerful, they thought that he was evil. So they tried to trap him and take away his powers. This shows that power can be deceiving by giving an example of it. The example shows that the Aurans were deceived by Spencer's power thus making them think that he was evil. Because the Aurans though that Spencer was evil, it totally contributes to the theme that power can be deceiving.
This book was by far the best in the series. The one thing that really made it stand out was how much detail the author put in to it. There were also some really cool ideas that showed up that I wouldn't be able to think of. Overall I would suggest it to any reader that likes crazy adventures and new ideas.
The theme of the book "Janitors: Curse of the Broomstaff" by Tyler Whitesides is power can be deceiving. Spencer, the main character in the book, is an Auran and has amazing powers. In the book, the other Aruans find out that Spencer is an Auran and is very powerful. Because he was so powerful, they thought that he was evil. So they tried to trap him and take away his powers. This shows that power can be deceiving by giving an example of it. The example shows that the Aurans were deceived by Spencer's power thus making them think that he was evil. Because the Aurans though that Spencer was evil, it totally contributes to the theme that power can be deceiving.
This book was by far the best in the series. The one thing that really made it stand out was how much detail the author put in to it. There were also some really cool ideas that showed up that I wouldn't be able to think of. Overall I would suggest it to any reader that likes crazy adventures and new ideas.
March 28, 2019
This was a great continuation in the Janitors series. I felt that this book definitely brought up more questions, and the plot truly thickened. I found myself questioning if Spencer should trust anyone besides is best friend anymore, as everyone else seems to either have turned out to be shady, or they have let him down somehow. I myself went back and forth on if a character could be trusted or not. However Spencers dad, the warlock, Penny, and the garbage man seemed to prove themselves pretty well in this book.
This book was truly the most entertaining and exited I’ve ever been when thinking about something happening in a landfill. There were several gross scenarios in this book, tons of adventure, excitement, and humor. I feel that so far this series is great for older kids (maybe as young as 8) through adults.
This book was truly the most entertaining and exited I’ve ever been when thinking about something happening in a landfill. There were several gross scenarios in this book, tons of adventure, excitement, and humor. I feel that so far this series is great for older kids (maybe as young as 8) through adults.
May 16, 2017
Sans être un mauvais livre, ce troisième tome de la série m'a complètement fait décroché. L'univers est poussé un peu trop loin pour moi, le manque d'évolution de la part des personnages et l'action qui tourne parfois un peu en rond ont été les points qui ont eu raison de moi. Je ne poursuivrai donc pas la lecture de cette sére. Je tiens par contre à préciser que je ne suis pas le public cible de cette série et que pour une collection jeunesse, elle est au-delà de ce qui se fait en général et pourrait facilement ravir les plus jeunes. J'ai adoré les deux premiers alors je vous dirais de tenter votre chance et vous verrez si vous poursuivez ou si vous laisser tomber après quelques tomes.
March 5, 2019
i LOVED IT. it is on the top 3 best books i have ever read.one of the best props in this story is the pan.
be warned the next book has a stupid character rant on dez.
next topic. the twist with rho was unexpected... by a lot(for me anyway).up till that point i thought that jenny was a normal person and now!!! seriously rho is a wierd person. a quadruple cross!!! i will never get that character.
thingamajunks are the last topic.i can only imagine what a thingamajunks would look like in real life. probably scary but stupid looking at the same time. i mean seriously trash walking around. that seems so dumb looking.
be warned the next book has a stupid character rant on dez.
next topic. the twist with rho was unexpected... by a lot(for me anyway).up till that point i thought that jenny was a normal person and now!!! seriously rho is a wierd person. a quadruple cross!!! i will never get that character.
thingamajunks are the last topic.i can only imagine what a thingamajunks would look like in real life. probably scary but stupid looking at the same time. i mean seriously trash walking around. that seems so dumb looking.
May 25, 2022
I think this one was the best so far. There was a clear goal through the whole book. It was exciting. And it had a fun twist at the end. I also really liked the concepts presented in this book. It wasn't smooth sailing for Spencer and his dad. It was nice to see some conflict there. A little more realistic than some of the relationships in these books. It also presents a good example of first impressions and judging people to be good or evil. I think that is an important concept for kids these days.
February 5, 2018
You know those books that you seem to just start and then all of a sudden you're reading the last page and feel like you're not ready for the story to end? This was one of those. The adventure, mystery, and excitement never ends and there is no room for boredom on any page. Loved this book, and can't wait to read more!
December 9, 2020
I liked this book a lot. New settings in books are always the best and the more thought-out and complicated the better. It makes the book that much more interesting because you're actively learning more and more about the setting. I also liked the characters and the Dark Aurans were interesting. It was really good.
January 26, 2021
I received a free review copy of this book. (Ages ago, but it happened!)
It's full of action, daring rescues, last minute escapes, and the like! Both the magic tools and the weird enemies are pretty cool. This isn't the best place to start the series, though, as I felt like everyone had already been introduced and it was awkward getting to know them. Ripe for a movie or TV adaptation!
It's full of action, daring rescues, last minute escapes, and the like! Both the magic tools and the weird enemies are pretty cool. This isn't the best place to start the series, though, as I felt like everyone had already been introduced and it was awkward getting to know them. Ripe for a movie or TV adaptation!
December 6, 2022
I really liked this book, and rereading it for a homework assignment was quite enjoyable. The book was really enjoyable. I liked seeing the characters interact again, and I liked seeing all the problems they have to solve with a new perspective. This is a great author, and I would recommend this book to most people. I understand that this is a book for younger people, but it was still great.
June 5, 2023
Audible Audiobook
Jack chose this book to listen to on the way home from Disneyland.
The writing is clever, witty, suspenseful. Good wins over evil; kindness matters. Characters (like Daisy) who seem a little ditsy turn out to have a lot of depth and important roles in the story.
I'm glad Jack introduced us to this series.
Jack chose this book to listen to on the way home from Disneyland.
The writing is clever, witty, suspenseful. Good wins over evil; kindness matters. Characters (like Daisy) who seem a little ditsy turn out to have a lot of depth and important roles in the story.
I'm glad Jack introduced us to this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2018
I loved it and am super happy I have the rest of the series to enjoy in the magical glopified world of toxites and warlocks and more! Tyler whitsides took his audience on an amazing adventure, leaving me feeling lucky to have gotten my hands on this book.😊
July 2, 2021
Again my kiddos love this story.
The one thing I dont like about these books is Dez never seems to have a consequence for his choices. He continues to go to the side that gives him what he wants and the other side will take him back even though he has shown he cant be trusted.
The one thing I dont like about these books is Dez never seems to have a consequence for his choices. He continues to go to the side that gives him what he wants and the other side will take him back even though he has shown he cant be trusted.
February 22, 2024
The third installment of the series, this offered a couple of twists that I hadn't exactly seen coming. I haven't yet started in on the fourth book of the series, but now I'm practically chomping at the bit to do so. This is quite an exciting series, and I'm glad that I've found it.
June 24, 2025
The five books in this series are actually one long story, so I couldn't stop after number three, even though I have another book I wanted to read. I started number four right away and I'm sure five will follow quickly behind.
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October 9, 2025I loved this book Series, It was so entertaining! It picks up right where it left off from the previous book. There are so many plot twists it's hard to keep up. Plus this is the story where the plot thickens.
July 30, 2017
Enticing!
I love this series!! I have read it over and over again! Lots of plot twists and cliffhangers! Anyone can read this book.
I love this series!! I have read it over and over again! Lots of plot twists and cliffhangers! Anyone can read this book.
July 4, 2017
This is the third in the series and Oakes and I enjoyed reading more of Spencer's adventures. Oakes was to continue with the series, but I'm ready for a little break from the BEM!
September 1, 2017
Very good book.
September 14, 2017
I really like these book, the trip to the glopified land fill was crazy.
December 20, 2017
I recomend this book to 4th to 7th graders.
March 14, 2018
Great Book! Loved it!
July 31, 2018
Spencer and the gang are hot on the trail to discover the mystical Aurans...
Who may or may not have turned evil.
Who may or may not have turned evil.
November 27, 2018
There was a lot of action in this book very fun and exciting.
December 21, 2018
My girls and I love these books and can’t wait to read the next one!
April 14, 2019
Danger, destiny, choices, answers and a new piece of the mission. Great installment!
May 10, 2019
Entertaining read. The characterization, I feel, is improving with each book.
June 12, 2019
Great continuation of the story - looking forward to the next book in the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews