Millicent will soon be 14 and if she studies her Celtic mythology enough, she will be certified to use her Power, a Gift handed down to females in her family from an ancestor in 16th-century England. The ensuing story about Millicent and her family includes the mysterious death of a younger sister, an absent father, the drug-induced death of a town teenager, robberies committed by the ex-con father of Millicent’s best friend, the drug bust of twin brother Dexter’s friend, and assorted other dramas. With so much action, this should be a page-turner. But the prolific Rinaldi (Numbering All the Bones, p. 498, etc.), best known for her historical fiction, has trouble incorporating the disparate elements into a convincing or engaging whole. The point of the magic powers is never explained satisfactorily. When Millicent uses her powers to shape-shift into a deer, she intones a corny-sounding spell in language that is completely out of character and unexpectedly recalls the prologue’s Celtic reference: “And I shall go in the animal’s name, aye, and walk amongst them, and hear joys and woes, and I’ll come home again.” The busy plot and the challenges of being magical in an ordinary world seem to be grafted together in an unsuccessful operation. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: May 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-06-029636-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
Four fifth-graders are recruited by a scheming magician in this hefty bonbon from the author of the Fablehaven tales. At first, Nate, Summer, Trevor and Pigeon think they have it good. Having asked them to help her recover a hidden treasure that (she says) belongs to her, Belinda White, friendly proprietor of a sweets shop that has just opened in their small town, provides some uncommon candies—like Moon Rocks, that give them the ability to jump like grasshoppers, and literally electrifying Shock Bits. When she begins asking them to commit certain burglaries, though, their exhilaration turns to unease, and rightly so; Mrs. White is actually after a draft from the Fountain of Youth that will make her the world’s most powerful magician. And, as it turns out, she isn’t the only magician who’s come to town—not even the only one whose magic is tied to sweets. Filling out the supporting cast with the requisite trio of bullies, plus magical minions of various (and sometimes gross) abilities, Mull trots his twist-laden plot forward to a well set-up climax. Leaving the door open an inch for sequels, he dishes up a crowd-pleaser as delicious—if not so weird—as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . (Fantasy. 10-13)
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-59038-783-2
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2007
Novak (The Pillow War, 1998, etc.) offers another blunt picture book parable. When a blue-skinned mechanical family moves into the old Wilson place, the neighbors are dismayed. The Robobots get a hostile reception in town, too, finding locked doors and signs such as “Weirdos go home” and “No freaks” posted on stores and the school. Distressed but optimistic, the Robobots invite an angry delegation into their radically altered home; after an exhilarating ride on the motorized furniture, plus a shared meal of cheeseburgers and chocolate-covered propellers, the tension floats away on a cloud of smiles. Children may laugh at the Robobots’ animated, pop-eyed furnishings and daffy ingenuousness, but they’ll laugh harder, and with more understanding, at Sam Swope and illustrator Barry Root’s less labored take on the theme, The Araboolies of Liberty Street (1989). (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7894-2566-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
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.
bookshelf
