A superior alien species has exhausted its own food supply and is about to invade earth to feed on the human population. Sixth-grader Deborah is leading a clandestine alien life while posing as a normal tween, when her father orders her to eat her best friend, Willy, at the upcoming Halloween celebration. “Feeding defines us. It’s who we are as a species.” Eating for these creatures happens once a year on Halloween, when they literally hunt and eat humans in a “feeding frenzy.” This alien family is living on earth disguised as humans waiting for Grandmother, who happens to be quite the powerful alien monster and very chummy with the “Supreme High Council” in charge of the invasion. Eason puts the strange, sometimes far-fetched non-terrestrial cannibalistic behaviors in a familiar middle-school novel and suggests parallels with an earth population that has killed its own inhabitants through war, greed and power. Deborah’s horror is allayed when she learns of a resistance movement and realizes others in her circle of family and community are also former Home World residents willing to fight for an earthly peaceful existence. The mixing of fantasy with reality doesn’t quite gel and produces a weird, sometimes gruesome sci-fi adventure that may have some devouring the story ane others just nibbling. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-06-082554-6
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Eos/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2007
The poster boy for relentless mischief-makers everywhere, first encountered in No, David! (1998), gives his weary mother a rest by going to school. Naturally, he’s tardy, and that’s but the first in a long string of offenses—“Sit down, David! Keep your hands to yourself! PAY ATTENTION!”—that culminates in an afterschool stint. Children will, of course, recognize every line of the text and every one of David’s moves, and although he doesn’t exhibit the larger- than-life quality that made him a tall-tale anti-hero in his first appearance, his round-headed, gap-toothed enthusiasm is still endearing. For all his disruptive behavior, he shows not a trace of malice, and it’ll be easy for readers to want to encourage his further exploits. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-48087-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Wholesome shading to bland, but well-stocked with exotic creatures and locales, plus an agreeable cast headed by a child...
A San Diego preteen learns that she’s an elf, with a place in magic school if she moves to the elves’ hidden realm.
Having felt like an outsider since a knock on the head at age 5 left her able to read minds, Sophie is thrilled when hunky teen stranger Fitz convinces her that she’s not human at all and transports her to the land of Lumenaria, where the ageless elves live. Taken in by a loving couple who run a sanctuary for extinct and mythical animals, Sophie quickly gathers friends and rivals at Foxfire, a distinctly Hogwarts-style school. She also uncovers both clues to her mysterious origins and hints that a rash of strangely hard-to-quench wildfires back on Earth are signs of some dark scheme at work. Though Messenger introduces several characters with inner conflicts and ambiguous agendas, Sophie herself is more simply drawn as a smart, radiant newcomer who unwillingly becomes the center of attention while developing what turn out to be uncommonly powerful magical abilities—reminiscent of the younger Harry Potter, though lacking that streak of mischievousness that rescues Harry from seeming a little too perfect. The author puts her through a kidnapping and several close brushes with death before leaving her poised, amid hints of a higher destiny and still-anonymous enemies, for sequels.
Wholesome shading to bland, but well-stocked with exotic creatures and locales, plus an agreeable cast headed by a child who, while overly fond of screaming, rises to every challenge. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4593-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
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