Odd but not without some appeal.
A lucky rabbit must escape from the depths of a magic hat to reunite with the boy he protects.
Cecil Bean has both bad luck and good luck because everyone in the world, according to this outlandish fantasy, has both a black cat that crosses their paths and a personal lucky rabbit. In Cecil’s case, Millikin the cat is determined to ruin the boy’s life while Leek the rabbit wants to keep him safe. Their conflict comes to a head when a traveling charlatan with a stolen magic hat puts Leek into the hat during a performance. The act sends Leek to an inhospitable realm called Hat, also Millikin’s homeland, where he meets other rabbits who’ve suffered the same fate. The tale picks up even more speed as Leek meets rabbit doe Morel, and the two set out for the fortress of the black cats, where they can return to their humans through magic. Nonstop action, with plenty of excrement jokes, carries readers along as the rabbits encounter unusual creatures, a few monsters, and an epic cat-and-mouse chase on their way. Meanwhile, Cecil, hoping to save Leek, learns to make his own luck. Although Morel defies gender stereotypes as a sword-wielding leader, a jungle-dwelling community of pierced, tattooed, and breechcloth-clad potbelly pigs reinforces those often assigned to Indigenous peoples. All human characters assume the white default. Taylor’s full-color, animation-inflected illustrations appear throughout.
Odd but not without some appeal. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-283997-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
An action-packed roller coaster of a tale with tongue-in-cheek humor; this is a delight.
Three young science fair contestants encounter a mysterious scientist and his world-changing plans.
Since her mother drowned when she was 3, it’s just been Theresa and her dad. The Charleston, South Carolina, 12-year-old is thrilled when the amazing solar-powered mechanical spider she built wins her first place at the middle school science fair, beating superachiever Ashley’s edible algae and goofy Jon’s bubble maker, which come in second and third, respectively. The three kids are awarded summer internships by reclusive Dr. Neil Flax, who is moving beyond his moneymaking Bionic Baby Bottom Buffer to tackle climate change. Theresa, Ashley, and Jon will be hanging out in the old, abandoned shopping mall in town where Flax Industries’ laboratory is located. But Theresa has a mysterious late-night encounter with a boy calling himself Thomas Edison who claims that Flax is building something that will destroy the world—and he needs her help to stop him. Theresa doesn’t know whom to trust or what to believe as she and her classmates enter Dr. Flax’s bizarre and dangerous world of robots and have the adventure of a lifetime. This fast-paced, well-plotted story features young people who learn to utilize each other’s strengths to get to the bottom of things. Characters are minimally described and racially ambiguous.
An action-packed roller coaster of a tale with tongue-in-cheek humor; this is a delight. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-16580-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Inconsistent and messy.
A young Appalachian girl uses magic to try and save her home.
Sybaline Shaw’s family has known for years that their magical valley in the Appalachian foothills would be flooded when the nearby Tennessee Valley Authority dam was complete. Her father is off fighting in World War II, but Momma has already packed up their household. Sybaline alone of her family can’t accept this. Everyone in the Lark bloodline can use magic within the valley to shape the natural world, but they risk transforming themselves into plants or trees—a danger Sybaline and her cousins regularly ignore. After lying to their parents shortly before everyone moves away, Sybaline and her cousin Nettle—each claiming to be going to stay with the other—remain behind and create a bubble around Sybaline’s home, which soon turns into a dark, dank prison on the bottom of the newly formed lake. Now Sybaline and Nettle are becoming trees—how will they escape? Told from Sybaline’s point of view with matter-of-factness, the novel blends fantasy and reality with worldbuilding that leaves unanswered questions. Brief mentions of aluminum plants supporting the war effort, riots by White men over Black construction workers, and the Trail of Tears contrast with the Edenlike imagery of the lush, unspoiled valley and its sheltered occupants living off the land in yet another Appalachian story supporting the trope that technology is predominantly bad. Main characters are assumed to be White.
Inconsistent and messy. (Historical fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72820-964-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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