Only the charm and earnestness of the two heroes and the hint of a peaceful tomorrow will keep readers on track.
There are several highly developed species precariously sharing our planet, extending real-life current events to a different level.
Attempts at peaceful coexistence through an ambassador program between humans and clepsits in which a child from one species is adopted and raised by the other have had mixed results. Isaac, a clepsit, lives with loving human parents and manages to hide his tail, but they must move every six months so humans won’t notice that he completely changes colors. White, redheaded, human Wren lives with a clepsit clan in a burrow and has a difficult time adapting to their habits. Her adoptive parents love her, but most of the rest of the clan treats her harshly. Now the legendary voracans, dwellers from the dark underground, are planning to conquer the world. There are kidnappings, torture, brave escapes, loyal friends, and evil traitors—dark content not flagged by the cheery, humorous cover. Sympathetic and winning, Isaac and Wren star in alternating, fast-paced chapters until they come together for the exciting conclusion. But several characters serve only to further the plot, floating through the events and disappearing. The three species are described with myriad, varying details, not always germane to the tale, and readers will often find themselves lost in the inconsistencies and coincidences.
Only the charm and earnestness of the two heroes and the hint of a peaceful tomorrow will keep readers on track. (Fantasy fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-553-51012-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato.
The new kid in school endures becoming the school mascot.
Ben Hardy has never cared for potatoes, and this distaste has become a barrier to adjusting to life in his new Idaho town. His school’s mascot is the Spud, and after a series of misfortunes, Ben is enlisted to don the potato costume and cheer on his school’s team. Ben balances his duties as a life-sized potato against his desperate desire to hide the fact that he’s the dork in the suit. After all, his cute new crush, Jayla, wouldn’t be too impressed to discover Ben’s secret. The ensuing novel is a fairly boilerplate middle–grade narrative: snarky tween protagonist, the crush that isn’t quite what she seems, and a pair of best friends that have more going on than our hero initially believes. The author keeps the novel moving quickly, pushing forward with witty asides and narrative momentum so fast that readers won’t really mind that the plot’s spine is one they’ve encountered many times before. Once finished, readers will feel little resonance and move on to the next book in their to-read piles, but in the moment the novel is pleasant enough. Ben, Jayla, and Ben’s friend Hunter are white while Ellie, Ben’s other good pal, is Latina.
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11866-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Cinematic, over-the-top decadence, a tense race against time, and lessons on what’s truly valuable.
A reward of $5,000,000 almost ruins everything for two seventh graders.
On a class trip to New York City, Felix and Benji find a wallet belonging to social media billionaire Laura Friendly. Benji, a well-off, chaotic kid with learning disabilities, swipes $20 from the wallet before they send it back to its owner. Felix, a poor, shy, rule-follower, reluctantly consents. So when Laura Friendly herself arrives to give them a reward for the returned wallet, she’s annoyed. To teach her larcenous helpers a lesson, Laura offers them a deal: a $20,000 college scholarship or slightly over $5 million cash—but with strings attached. The boys must spend all the money in 30 days, with legal stipulations preventing them from giving anything away, investing, or telling anyone about it. The glorious windfall quickly grows to become a chore and then a torment as the boys appear increasingly selfish and irresponsible to the adults in their lives. They rent luxury cars, hire a (wonderful) philosophy undergrad as a chauffeur, take their families to Disney World, and spend thousands on in-app game purchases. Yet, surrounded by hedonistically described piles of loot and filthy lucre, the boys long for simpler fundamentals. The absorbing spending spree reads like a fun family film, gleefully stuffed with the very opulence it warns against. Major characters are White.
Cinematic, over-the-top decadence, a tense race against time, and lessons on what’s truly valuable. (mathematical explanations) (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-17525-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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