PRO CONNECT
A 12-year-old boy is alarmed when his lawyer uncle’s new client turns out to be a fire-breathing dragon in Newhouse’s (Alice in Batsylvania, 2016, etc.) second middle-grade comic-fantasy series installment.
Young Brodie is just beginning to adjust to life in the unusual town of Monstrovia. His divorced parents are still away (Mom’s in China, Dad’s in the military), so he’s staying with his Uncle Jasper, one of the few other humans in the city and an attorney to trolls, giants, and all manner of beings out of folktales, fairy tales, and myth. In the series debut, Brodie provided a clue that enabled Jasper to help Jack (of “Jack and the Beanstalk” fame) avoid a giant-killing murder rap. Now Jasper is enlisting Brodie to help in his next case, involving a fuzzy-cheeked, fire-breathing Serpentake (a rare type of dragon) and his offspring, who are being evicted from their ancestral forest home to make way for a dump. Newhouse treats readers to an inventive world of literature-referencing wackiness, including bear-headed peacekeepers; the late Wicked Witch of the West’s flying monkeys, now freelancing as thuggish enforcers; the Big Bad Wolf’s lawyer brother; a speed-obsessed cabbie in a car shaped like a mushroom; a “wacked-out computer” called “the Brain,” controlled by thoughts and emotions; and much more. Brodie is portrayed as much more than just a human foil for the nonhuman shenanigans, however. As the story progresses, so does the protagonist’s deepening understanding of himself and others, helped by his growing sympathy for the Serpentake’s chaos-causing dragon babies and his friendship with Emily Beanstalk, Jack’s “humanoid” and “good percentage fictional” sister. Throughout, Newhouse never loses sight of Brodie’s shifting perspective, skillfully weaving the plot around the believably prickly, puzzle-loving young protagonist.
This entry, infused with sly humor and anchored by a relatable hero, doesn’t disappoint.
Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5374-5759-8
Page count: 176pp
Publisher: AimHi Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 29, 2018
In book one of a new fantasy series for middle schoolers, a boy’s sour perspective on life changes during an unexpected encounter with giants, dragons, trolls, and other mythical creatures.
Mom is on a prolonged sales trip in China; Dad is deployed to the Middle East; and Brodie Adkins, age 12 and angry about his parents’ divorce, has been sent to Key West, Florida, to spend the summer with an uncle he’s never met. After Brodie’s plane lands, he is whisked away by a troll cabbie to Monstrovia, a “crazy place not on any map of Florida, the United States or the World.” Uncle Jasper turns out to be a lawyer famous for defending “Monsters, Fictional Folk, etc.” who counts Dracula among his clients and drives a dragon with a bathtub sidecar. Brodie hangs on to his skepticism and keeps his emotional distance until he is caught up in the case of Jack, accused of murdering a giant and stealing certain precious items. Jack’s sister insists he’s innocent, but it doesn’t bode well that the judge and jury are giants. The author deftly weaves these “Jack and the Beanstalk” elements into a parallel world where pixies are pesky reporters, the district attorney is a 14-foot-tall Perry Mason look-alike, the goose with the golden eggs takes the stand, and Jack’s missing father and mother become keys to the verdict. As Brodie becomes invested in the outcome, he puts aside his own grievances and fears (although he’s still not crazy about the giant spiders), assists his uncle in court, and begins to understand the roots of his own anger and mistrust. That the summer will be a life-changer for the troubled youth isn’t hard to predict, but Newhouse (A Bite Before Christmas, 2016, etc.) goes about it with imagination, humor—often the mild, gross-out kind—and a solid awareness of challenges faced by many young adolescents, while avoiding cloying plot strands. How affirmation and positive reinforcement can effect change may be the unsubtle takeaway here, but the author, a former educator, delivers it with informed empathy and gleeful wit.
An inventive and surprisingly coherent mix of monsters, mystery, courtroom drama, and real-life family dynamics.
Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-692-51895-3
Page count: 320pp
Publisher: Aim-Hi Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2016
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.