Recommended to youths eager to read about a strong, teenage heroine fighting monsters but who aren’t quite old enough for...
A young girl from a low-income home discovers a surprising family legacy in English’s debut novel, a darkly funny young-adult fantasy adventure.
Thirteen-year-old Coriander Jones and her younger sister, Autumn, are on the bus to Happy Haven, a summer camp that mostly takes children from poor families, along with a number of friends and neighborhood kids, when their bus driver—or rather the lizardlike creature that seems to have possessed him—suddenly tries to kill them. Shortly after subduing and decapitating him, Coriander and her compatriots learn the truth: This isn’t an ordinary camp but rather one of the last lines of defense between our world and the Old Ones, ancient, Lovecraftian gods who want to tear down the barriers between the universes and take over reality. And so on top of the typical teenager problems, conflicts and such that occur at camp, Coriander also has to worry about fighting off creatures of darkness. She even learns that her “crazy” Aunt Collette is also a warrior in the fight to preserve this universe. Throughout the book, English balances suspenseful situations with a sharp sense of humor. Coriander makes for a fun, unusual first-person narrator for a female-driven YA story, neatly switching from self-deprecating digs at her social status to coping with the burden of being an otherwise everyday kid now learning how to fight actual gods and monsters. Centering on such a tough, self-reliant tomboy of a girl makes for a refreshing break from the angsty, pretty Barbie dolls that populate so much of YA fiction. Meanwhile, Coriander’s repeated warnings to readers to turn away if they would like to read something less frightening is nicely reminiscent of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Coriander’s story doesn’t have quite the bite of that series, and it isn’t a wildly new concept, but for young readers, it’s a nice introduction to urban fantasy and Lovecraft, with an entertaining mythology and even more entertaining characters.
Recommended to youths eager to read about a strong, teenage heroine fighting monsters but who aren’t quite old enough for Buffy.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-0615878935
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Cricket Cottage Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit.
Readers try to dislodge a monster from the pages of this emotive and interactive read-aloud.
“OH NO!” the story starts. “There’s a monster in your book!” The blue, round-headed monster with pink horns and a pink-tipped tail can be seen cheerfully munching on the opening page. “Let’s try to get him out,” declares the narrator. Readers are encouraged to shake, tilt, and spin the book around, while the monster careens around an empty background looking scared and lost. Viewers are exhorted to tickle the monster’s feet, blow on the page, and make a really loud noise. Finally, shockingly, it works: “Now he’s in your room!” But clearly a monster in your book is safer than a monster in your room, so he’s coaxed back into the illustrations and lulled to sleep, curled up under one page and cuddling a bit of another like a child with their blankie. The monster’s entirely cute appearance and clear emotional reactions to his treatment add to the interactive aspect, and some young readers might even resist the instructions to avoid hurting their new pal. Children will be brought along on the monster’s journey, going from excited, noisy, and wiggly to calm and steady (one can hope).
Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit. (Picture book. 2-7)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6456-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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