Fast-moving and exuberant, packed with imagination.
A boy and his little sister uncover an otherworldly woodland academy in Vanderhorst’s middle-grade debut.
Casey Grimes, 11, has been invisible for the last three months—ever since he and his family moved to Vintage Woods, Oregon. The invisibility is effective rather than literal. People tend not to notice him and forget about him after a few seconds. School has been difficult, but Casey’s life is about to change. First he discovers a gargantuan oak tree with a fortress in its uppermost branches. Then he learns that his 6-year-old sister, Gloria, has also been suffering the effects of invisibility. Casey and Gloria sleep out in the tree and meet Luci, a girl who not only can see them both, but who comes from another world. Luci lives in Sylvan Woods, an enchanted forest upon which the regular forest is overlaid. She attends Trickery School, where young Sylvans learn ways to combat the deadly monsters that threaten both the Sylvan and regular worlds. Casey desperately wants to attend Trickery School. But can he and Gloria fit in by pretending to be Luci’s cousins? Moreover, can they save Sylvan Woods from a killer infestation of Butcher Beasts? Vanderhorst employs a simple narrative style to good effect. Descriptions are sparing but sufficient. The dialogue is age-appropriate. The book comprises short chapters—71 in all!—and the reader is drawn ever forward, accompanying Casey and Gloria on a steppingstone path of small mysteries and action scenes. Sylvan Woods is a splendid conception, all the more so perhaps because it carries a magical feel even while its inhabitants judge magic itself to be passé. Vanderhorst has a real knack for characterization. Casey and Gloria share a beautifully realized brother-sister dynamic, and Luci has a strong-willed personality. The adult characters, too, are memorable in their brief appearances. If the writing has faults, they are that the interpersonal conflicts form and resolve somewhat abruptly and that the narrative drive occasionally rushes past moments that deserve a more lingering treatment (the fate of Old ThunderSnot the bloodhound, for instance). Such urgency has its upside, though. Young readers will be enthralled throughout.
Fast-moving and exuberant, packed with imagination. (Fiction, 8-10)Pub Date: April 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-947796-45-4
Page Count: 292
Publisher: Intense Publications
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Beautiful, remarkable, amazing, and wonderful in every way.
Hector wants to be a deep-sea diver, just like his father and grandfather.
He has internalized all his grandfather’s tales, especially the story of the “rarest, whitest, and purist pearl in the world,” said to live on the seabed offshore near the Marina, their family business. But the greedy Amedeo Limonta has set up a competitive business that’s forced the Marina to close. When Hector turns 8, everything changes. On his very first dive, he discovers the magical Pearl and brings it home…and complications ensue. Hector heeds his memories and dreams of his grandfather and courageously makes it all right. Hector narrates his adventures in meticulously organized chapters, carefully introducing each character, providing detailed information about relationships and events, and sharing credit for his successes. At the conclusion Hector presents readers with vivid descriptions of his beloved village and its inhabitants. Sabatinelli provides Hector with a voice that soars with lilting, expressive language, losing nothing in Turner’s translation from Italian. Bruno’s intensely bright, sharply hued illustrations are a tour de force. A chart of semaphore flags and diagrams that detail the parts of a diving suit fill the opening pages, and those flags head each chapter. The sea is evoked with glorious dreamlike color and movement, and characters’ features and expressions immediately announce their nature, emotions, and quirks. All present White. Hector is wise, kind, and readers will take him to their hearts.
Beautiful, remarkable, amazing, and wonderful in every way. (Adventure. 6-12)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63655-006-0
Page Count: 92
Publisher: Red Comet Press
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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