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Janitors #4
Strike of the Sweepers
The stakes have never been higher, and you've never seen squeegees do this before! It is a wild and slightly unsanitary ride as Spencer, Daisy, and the rebels find themselves chased by Mr. Clean's new and terrifying breed of toxite the Sweepers. Time is short. With the fabled Manualis Custodem in hand, Spencer must figure out how to summon the founding witches if they ever hope to mop up and save education.
What critics are saying about Janitors:
"An enormously entertaining book." Orson Scott Card
"An entertaining ruckus." Kirkus Reviews
"Action-packed and surprising! Readers will become convinced of the value of telling the truth, while having a lot of fun along the way." Publishers Weekly
"Entertaining . . . with plenty of twists and turns." Brandon Mull, author of Fablehaven and Beyonders series
What critics are saying about Janitors:
"An enormously entertaining book." Orson Scott Card
"An entertaining ruckus." Kirkus Reviews
"Action-packed and surprising! Readers will become convinced of the value of telling the truth, while having a lot of fun along the way." Publishers Weekly
"Entertaining . . . with plenty of twists and turns." Brandon Mull, author of Fablehaven and Beyonders series
384 pages, Hardcover
First published September 9, 2014
43 people are currently reading
1075 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
September 13, 2014
Janitors has been among my top favorite Middle Grade fantasy series. I've been recommending Janitors to kids and their parents since this series first came out. The kids can relate to main characters, Spencer and Daisy. They want to have a grand adventure like these now sixth-graders are having.
Did I like this new installment in the Janitors series? With two words I answer...Of Course!! It picked up soon after where book three ended. Mr.Clean has become even bigger and scarier as he has invented a new half-breed of toxite's called, The Sweepers. They are more fierce and deadlier than anything they've encountered yet! Spencer, Daisy, and the other rebels find their jobs are even harder as they need to find a way to summon the Founding Witches that can finally end this great fight against Mr.Clean and the BEM.
One of the favorite things my kids loved in this book is Daisy's pet, Bookworm, a Thingamajunk: a walking heap of trash with a mind of it's own and a very unique and cute personality. It had followed Daisy home from the landfill (read in book 3 all about that!). The way it's described is hilarious! "..it's head was comprised of a dented lunchbox and a moldy textbook dangling down like a sloppy jaw...his trademark smile revealed stubs of broken pencils arranged like teeth in the yellow pages." What great story starters to get kid's imagination going and thinking of what they're own trash pet would be made of and what it would look like.
There were so many exciting plot twists in this book. It made for an fun and wild read. As always, I highly recommend that you start reading book one first and then progress through the series. This is an excellent read-aloud for classrooms and for families. Also, be prepared for an ultra shocking ending that will leave you shaking your head and saying,"WHAT?" Book five will not be out soon enough to read the conclusion to this wonderful series.
Did I like this new installment in the Janitors series? With two words I answer...Of Course!! It picked up soon after where book three ended. Mr.Clean has become even bigger and scarier as he has invented a new half-breed of toxite's called, The Sweepers. They are more fierce and deadlier than anything they've encountered yet! Spencer, Daisy, and the other rebels find their jobs are even harder as they need to find a way to summon the Founding Witches that can finally end this great fight against Mr.Clean and the BEM.
One of the favorite things my kids loved in this book is Daisy's pet, Bookworm, a Thingamajunk: a walking heap of trash with a mind of it's own and a very unique and cute personality. It had followed Daisy home from the landfill (read in book 3 all about that!). The way it's described is hilarious! "..it's head was comprised of a dented lunchbox and a moldy textbook dangling down like a sloppy jaw...his trademark smile revealed stubs of broken pencils arranged like teeth in the yellow pages." What great story starters to get kid's imagination going and thinking of what they're own trash pet would be made of and what it would look like.
There were so many exciting plot twists in this book. It made for an fun and wild read. As always, I highly recommend that you start reading book one first and then progress through the series. This is an excellent read-aloud for classrooms and for families. Also, be prepared for an ultra shocking ending that will leave you shaking your head and saying,"WHAT?" Book five will not be out soon enough to read the conclusion to this wonderful series.
November 6, 2014
"In five minutes," Walter said, "I'm going to use this squeegee to open a portal to New Forest Academy. We're going to move in and apprehend Director Carlos Garcia."
Spencer's surprised look mirrored Daisy's. Penny looked excited, and Alan simply nodded.
"Tonight we finish what we almost did last November," Alan said. "We're taking the warlock's hammer and nail."
This is book 4 in the Janitor's series by Tyler Whitesides. The series follows the adventures of Spencer and Daisy, two elementary school students who discover that education is in danger. The threat comes in the form of toxites, monstrous creatures who take away the students' ability to concentrate and learn. The people charged with protecting the students from these creatures are the janitors. They use a magic substance called glop to turn janitorial tools and supplies into weapons against or protection from the toxites.
Throughout the series, the kids join forces with the janitors to try to defeat the toxites and various enemies, including the Bureau of Educational Maintenance (who used to be the good guys). This book continues the exciting adventure with more twists and turns. Every time I think I finally know exactly who the bad guys are and exactly who to trust, there is another twist.
I read this entire series with my son, who is now in 6th grade. We started the series when the book was nominated for a Sunshine State Readers award in the 2013-2014 school year. He really loves the story and is always anxious for the next book to come out.
Recommended to:
Middle readers, in grades 5-8 and their parents. There is some loss experienced in this series and a lot of scary situations that kept us on the edge of our seats. If your child likes adventures and twists and turns in their stories, they should enjoy these books.
Spencer's surprised look mirrored Daisy's. Penny looked excited, and Alan simply nodded.
"Tonight we finish what we almost did last November," Alan said. "We're taking the warlock's hammer and nail."
This is book 4 in the Janitor's series by Tyler Whitesides. The series follows the adventures of Spencer and Daisy, two elementary school students who discover that education is in danger. The threat comes in the form of toxites, monstrous creatures who take away the students' ability to concentrate and learn. The people charged with protecting the students from these creatures are the janitors. They use a magic substance called glop to turn janitorial tools and supplies into weapons against or protection from the toxites.
Throughout the series, the kids join forces with the janitors to try to defeat the toxites and various enemies, including the Bureau of Educational Maintenance (who used to be the good guys). This book continues the exciting adventure with more twists and turns. Every time I think I finally know exactly who the bad guys are and exactly who to trust, there is another twist.
I read this entire series with my son, who is now in 6th grade. We started the series when the book was nominated for a Sunshine State Readers award in the 2013-2014 school year. He really loves the story and is always anxious for the next book to come out.
Recommended to:
Middle readers, in grades 5-8 and their parents. There is some loss experienced in this series and a lot of scary situations that kept us on the edge of our seats. If your child likes adventures and twists and turns in their stories, they should enjoy these books.
February 12, 2024
Terrific! Lots of neat twists and turns!
Second Read - This is quite the exciting book! So many things going on, yet all is easily tracked and definitely made understandable, right to the surprising end.
Second Read - This is quite the exciting book! So many things going on, yet all is easily tracked and definitely made understandable, right to the surprising end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2015
This was a great way to make reading an adventure and I really liked it.
May 23, 2019
Over all a very good book! I love how creative Tyler Whitesides is in his books. I have honestly never read anything like it in the several fantasy books I’ve read. Series is full of adventure, danger, disappointment, and excitement. Their are some hard, and truthfully sad moments in this book, but it was still a really good read. A fun fact is that the author does the reading for the audio books in this series!
June 28, 2025
The only reason I give this series four stars instead of five, is because they are written for kids, so they don't have the depth of language and imagery that an adult book would have. That aside, this is one long (five book) story with lots of action and suspense. How could I ever stop before reaching the end of the story. On to book five.
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April 22, 2017DEZ!!!!!!!!! Why do you always have to oppose everyone else? They have a better sense of judgement than you, but just because you're a sweeper now, doesn't mean you are invincible. Just watch, you're going to end up either dead or blind.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2020
We listened to the audiobook version. My kids love this series. All three of them love it. That is not common. It is very creative and full of action. In general it is a clean, engaging series.
October 11, 2014
I am always excited to see a new Janitors book come out. This is the fourth book in the series and it isn't over yet! Tyler Whitesides writes with imagination and creativity. Every book I say to myself, "how does he come up with this stuff?!"
These are middle grade books and some of the best I've ever come across. If you have a reluctant reader, this might be a good series to perk their interest. I actually think this series would be awesome read aloud. If my kids were younger, this is the one I'd be reading them.
In this book, my favorite things were the squeegees that when rubbed on glass create a portal to get from one place to another. I can think of a lot of people I would love to squeegee with! To be able to travel home to see my parents with the swipe of a squeegee would be awesome!! The other thing I loved was the Thingamajunk. I think I want one of those.
My favorite quote is found on page 92. "Because victory will come to those who fight for what is right. It won't come without its fair share of pain and suffering. No victory comes without sacrifice. But it will come. We just have to stay the course."
These are middle grade books and some of the best I've ever come across. If you have a reluctant reader, this might be a good series to perk their interest. I actually think this series would be awesome read aloud. If my kids were younger, this is the one I'd be reading them.
In this book, my favorite things were the squeegees that when rubbed on glass create a portal to get from one place to another. I can think of a lot of people I would love to squeegee with! To be able to travel home to see my parents with the swipe of a squeegee would be awesome!! The other thing I loved was the Thingamajunk. I think I want one of those.
My favorite quote is found on page 92. "Because victory will come to those who fight for what is right. It won't come without its fair share of pain and suffering. No victory comes without sacrifice. But it will come. We just have to stay the course."
November 14, 2015
An audiobook narrated by the author? Tyler Whitesides can not only write, but he has more than one voice! Mr. Garcia with rolling “r’s” and the middle school bully Dez are just two of the characters portrayed in Janitors #4. My children adore this series. We listened to it to and from school and once again were not disappointed in the action packed, middle grade magic. In installment #4 Spencer and his crew and fighting a hybrid race of “toxites” and the evil Mr. Clean. Armed with glop, brooms and squeegees the war is on!
If you haven’t read the rest of the Janitors series, start with book one and then get to book four around Halloween time. The tone and music is perfect for a suspenseful read with witches and warlocks. Tyler Whitesides know how to reel in this family and I’m sure he will yours!
If you haven’t read the rest of the Janitors series, start with book one and then get to book four around Halloween time. The tone and music is perfect for a suspenseful read with witches and warlocks. Tyler Whitesides know how to reel in this family and I’m sure he will yours!
September 17, 2014
THIS SERIES CONTINUES TO AMAZE AND ENTERTAIN!
SO. SO. SO. FUN!
Join Spencer, Daisy, Dez and the other rebels as they battle with Mr. Clean's "new and terrifying breed of toxite-- the Sweepers."
Travel through portals~
Battle TP mummies~
Ride in Big Bertha~
And see what happens when a janitor gets glopified~
Can Spencer protect the Manualis Custodem and find the founding witches before it is too late?
This is a book for the WHOLE FAMILY!
It's a wild and often messy ride,
but leave it to Tyler Whitesides to make garbage so FUN :)
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this series!
A FUN READ!
DON'T MISS OUT~ THIS ONE IS WORTH IT!
SO. SO. SO. FUN!
Join Spencer, Daisy, Dez and the other rebels as they battle with Mr. Clean's "new and terrifying breed of toxite-- the Sweepers."
Travel through portals~
Battle TP mummies~
Ride in Big Bertha~
And see what happens when a janitor gets glopified~
Can Spencer protect the Manualis Custodem and find the founding witches before it is too late?
This is a book for the WHOLE FAMILY!
It's a wild and often messy ride,
but leave it to Tyler Whitesides to make garbage so FUN :)
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this series!
A FUN READ!
DON'T MISS OUT~ THIS ONE IS WORTH IT!
October 25, 2014
Another good book in the series. This one takes the Janitors all over the place to get everything ready to bring back the witches. We finally get a good look at Mr. Clean and the reappearance of an old friend. It has quite a few twists and turns that I didn't really expect, so I liked the surprises. It's going to be interesting to see how things work out in the next book.
April 29, 2018
Spencer and his group of rebel janitors have found a way to destroy all toxicites. They are going to bring back the founding witches. The founding witches are the creators of all toxicites. Although, with the BEM's new breed of half toxicites half humans called sweepers, the journey only gets harder. Finally, with all of the ingredients Spencer and Walter (Spencer's mentor) opened up the portal to the witches. After the witches emerged Spencer and Walter soon found out that the witches were on the BEM's side all along. Before Spencer knew it, a BEM sweeper killed Walter. Spencer and the group of rebels barely escaped the witches and Spencer knew that whatever he would do, he would do for Walter.
The theme of the book "Janitors: Strike of the Sweepers" by Tyler Whitesides is in order to do the right thing, there are sacrifices. In the book, Walter dies even though he was trying to do the right thing. This really shows that there are sacrifices because he died. It also shows that there are different levels of sacrifice. This one was a huge sacrifice and really left an impact on the characters. After Walter died, all of the characters acted way more depressed and sad. In conclusion, the theme of the book "Janitors: Strike of the Sweepers" by Tyler Whitesides is to do the right thing, sacrifices have to be made.
Overall, I really liked this book. The one thing that really made it stand out from the other ones was the sad ending. I felt like it really made you want to connect more with the characters. It actually made me go home, pick up the next book, and read. For the most part, I think it is the best book in the series and is a good book for people who like suspense.
The theme of the book "Janitors: Strike of the Sweepers" by Tyler Whitesides is in order to do the right thing, there are sacrifices. In the book, Walter dies even though he was trying to do the right thing. This really shows that there are sacrifices because he died. It also shows that there are different levels of sacrifice. This one was a huge sacrifice and really left an impact on the characters. After Walter died, all of the characters acted way more depressed and sad. In conclusion, the theme of the book "Janitors: Strike of the Sweepers" by Tyler Whitesides is to do the right thing, sacrifices have to be made.
Overall, I really liked this book. The one thing that really made it stand out from the other ones was the sad ending. I felt like it really made you want to connect more with the characters. It actually made me go home, pick up the next book, and read. For the most part, I think it is the best book in the series and is a good book for people who like suspense.
January 24, 2018
Exposition:
-They find someone to translate the Manualis Custodem
-When they are figuring things out they get ambushed
-Have to keep the book safe as they go out in search of the other two nails
Rising Action:
-Walter gets rehired as head janitor
-Get Garcia’s nail and hammer after having a huge battle
-Go to the BEM lab where they get ambushed and only Dez, Spencer, and Daisy make it out
-Save Walter from the vortex and almost get killed
-Devise a plan to save the others
Climax:
-Huge battle in the BEM lab
-They have to go back for the last nail
-The lab starts to floods
-They barely make it out
Falling Action:
-They have all of the nails and get back to Welcher
-Right when they get back they make the Glop formula
-They get ambushed and the witches turn out to be the ones behind New Forest Academy all along
-The witches kill Walter to get the nails back, but Spencer takes them and runs away
Resolution:
-They get away from the witches and BEM and hide the nails so that nobody can find them
Figurative Language:
-Red as a tomato
-Slimy like a frog
-Black like night
-Sludge like mud
Like:
-Spencer stays an Auran and has the abilities of the Dark Aurans
-Spencer uses his abilities a bit more
-There are Sweepers
Dislike:
-The witches are evil
-When sweepers are hurt they become blind
-They want to destroy glop
-They find someone to translate the Manualis Custodem
-When they are figuring things out they get ambushed
-Have to keep the book safe as they go out in search of the other two nails
Rising Action:
-Walter gets rehired as head janitor
-Get Garcia’s nail and hammer after having a huge battle
-Go to the BEM lab where they get ambushed and only Dez, Spencer, and Daisy make it out
-Save Walter from the vortex and almost get killed
-Devise a plan to save the others
Climax:
-Huge battle in the BEM lab
-They have to go back for the last nail
-The lab starts to floods
-They barely make it out
Falling Action:
-They have all of the nails and get back to Welcher
-Right when they get back they make the Glop formula
-They get ambushed and the witches turn out to be the ones behind New Forest Academy all along
-The witches kill Walter to get the nails back, but Spencer takes them and runs away
Resolution:
-They get away from the witches and BEM and hide the nails so that nobody can find them
Figurative Language:
-Red as a tomato
-Slimy like a frog
-Black like night
-Sludge like mud
Like:
-Spencer stays an Auran and has the abilities of the Dark Aurans
-Spencer uses his abilities a bit more
-There are Sweepers
Dislike:
-The witches are evil
-When sweepers are hurt they become blind
-They want to destroy glop
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2022
I cannot wait to be done with this series. Again, I think the overall story is OK but the details are a little too far out there for me. It is kind of like Wayside School in a way. Just wat too far off from reality to even entertain the idea that the story could be real. But, now I am invested and I can't wait to fully finish the series so I can be done with it and have the authority behind me to let people know that it is not worth the read.
January 26, 2024
Contrived, predictable, but entertaining. This would have to be the weakest of the entries. Dez being a good guy out of nowhere and somehow able to be a Sweeper just by cleaning a little bit. Then, the apparent twist is that the witches were the bad guys. However, with all that, it was still fun. I liked the wacky actions we got into. The twist was expected, but it was fun. For a young adult novel, it can be surprising how many deaths there are.
I look forward to the conclusion.
I look forward to the conclusion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2018
This was an amazing book filled with even more action and adventure than the last 3! I loved it and want to see how the rest of Spencer’s journey plays out in book 5. I’m still happy I picked this series out for a spin!
March 19, 2019
this book was amazing i loved every sentence typed. but i am doing my dumb character rant.
DEZ YOU DUMMY YOU ARE JUST A STUPID BULLY AND I PREFERED YOU THAT WAY
though it was kinda cool
AND I ALSO HATE THE FOUNDING WITCHES.
though that was also kinda cool(what a plot twist)
stupid character rant?
DEZ YOU DUMMY YOU ARE JUST A STUPID BULLY AND I PREFERED YOU THAT WAY
though it was kinda cool
AND I ALSO HATE THE FOUNDING WITCHES.
though that was also kinda cool(what a plot twist)
stupid character rant?
June 12, 2019
This one seemed to move a little slower than the other books so far in the series but it was still good and I am looking forward to the conclusion. I am not sure how many more no win situations Spencer can survive.
December 14, 2020
I was beginning to wonder what the fifth book was going to be about, but that question was quickly answered. This book gave me many emotions as I read. I'd gotten a little bored in the middle, but now I'm back to wanting to know what's going to happen.
March 18, 2018
Great book. Fun, captivating, innovative. Very simple novel, but the imagination keeps me entranced. Finished the last half of the book in one night.
September 1, 2017
Very good book.
February 26, 2018
PLOT TWIST at the end! Didn't see that coming.
March 14, 2018
Loved it!
July 31, 2018
Everything falls apart, and an ingenious plan might save them all...
Or it could completely ruin everything.
Or it could completely ruin everything.
March 28, 2019
FINALLY finished this! Took a while since my girls and I only listened to it in the car, but it was so good! Can’t wait to read the next and final book!
April 22, 2019
What an adventure. Mysteries solved and new ones started. Great fun!
July 29, 2019
Great addition to Janitors series. Never in my life have I wanted to own and drive a garbage truck...until now.
Read
September 8, 2019This series is so creative! Lots of conflict and action to hold a kid's interest too.
September 29, 2019
I have read so many of these now that they aren't really surprising me anymore. Even so, they are a pleasant read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews