Humor carries the day in this British import.
The shrimplike being washed up near Caitlin’s island home has surprising characteristics.
Ten-year-old, white, possibly dyslexic narrator Caitlin is a social and academic misfit. Her only friend, Frank, is a would-be fisherman enlisted to take her by boat to and from school. At home, her accomplished parents are too distracted to attend to her. A massive storm before Caitlin’s terrible last day of school results in hundreds of dead jellyfish and drops an odd creature, its white, malleable shell covered in strange symbols, into the marshes. Recognizing it as something special, Caitlin saves it from dehydration. As the creature learns to talk, it latches on to Caitlin’s explanation (perigee) of a photograph of the full moon in her astrobiologist father’s book. Unfortunately Perijee’s outsized self-defense mechanism brings about a minor apocalypse, flooding villages and towns and forcing most of the country’s population into refugee camps. Caitlin’s awkwardness is sometimes cringeworthy, but her warmhearted loyalty to Perijee makes her bravely seek to rescue him from those who want to destroy him (nearly everyone). A sinister cult of little old ladies figures in the climax, along with Frank the fisherman and another resourceful girl with a knack for thievery. Montgomery’s jam-packed narrative doesn’t slow for an instant in this exaggeratedly comic drama. While there are just a few thoughtful moments, there are several irresistibly funny ones.
Humor carries the day in this British import. (Science fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-55397-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers.
First volume of a planned three, this edited version of an ongoing online serial records a middle-school everykid’s triumphs and (more often) tribulations through the course of a school year.
Largely through his own fault, mishaps seem to plague Greg at every turn, from the minor freak-outs of finding himself permanently seated in class between two pierced stoners and then being saddled with his mom for a substitute teacher, to being forced to wrestle in gym with a weird classmate who has invited him to view his “secret freckle.” Presented in a mix of legible “hand-lettered” text and lots of simple cartoon illustrations with the punch lines often in dialogue balloons, Greg’s escapades, unwavering self-interest and sardonic commentary are a hoot and a half.
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8109-9313-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet!
Ryan Hart is navigating the fourth grade and all its challenges with determination.
Her mom named her Ryan because it means “king,” and she wanted Ryan to feel powerful every time she heard her name; Ryan knows it means she is a leader. So when changes occur or disaster strikes, budding chef Ryan does her best to find the positive and “make sunshine.” When her dad is laid off from the post office, the family must make adjustments that include moving into a smaller house, selling their car, and changing how they shop for groceries. But Ryan gets to stay at Vernon Elementary, and her mom still finds a way to get her the ingredients she needs to practice new recipes. Her older brother, Ray, can be bossy, but he finds little ways to support her, especially when she is down—as does the whole family. Each episodic chapter confronts Ryan with a situation; intermittently funny, frustrating, and touching, they should be familiar and accessible to readers, as when Ryan fumbles her Easter speech despite careful practice. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and Watson continues to bring visibility to both Portland, Oregon, generally and its Black community specifically, making another wonderful contribution that allows Black readers to see themselves and all readers to find a character they can love.
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet! (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0056-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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