An easily avoided waste of time.
Why does time fly when you’re having fun? Time thieves!
San Francisco seventh-grader Taj Carter is an expert time waster and an excellent planner of fun times. He and his friends have an epic summer planned—but when he wakes up on what should be the first day of summer, it’s the first day of school! Everyone is acting strangely…and then gym class freezes, and a bus plows through the gymnasium wall. Eon, a burly Time Tracer in a gray business suit, tells Taj that summer fun times were stolen and the only way to get them back is to join him. Eon works for Father Time at the Universal Time Agency, which fights the time thieves, 600 separate species of insectile monsters that each feeds off a different type of fun time. Taj’s whole community is in danger, and only Taj can return their time to them…but there is a powerful enemy out there guiding the thieves. Can Taj and the agents stop him in…time? Both producers for the media organization the Story Pirates, Bondor-Stone and White aim for an older audience than their tales about Shivers the pirate…and end up with a bit of a mess. The premise isn’t a bad one, but the metaphysics are so poorly communicated that readers will question the many inconsistencies throughout. Characterization suffers as well, failing to explain arguably the most important question, which is, why is Taj the chosen one? The book seems to adhere to the white default.
An easily avoided waste of time. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: May 22, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267142-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An effort as insubstantial as any spirit.
Eleven-year-old Maria Russo helps her charlatan mother hoodwink customers, but Maria has a spirited secret.
Maria’s mother, the psychic Madame Destine, cons widows out of their valuables with the assistance of their apartment building’s super, Mr. Fox. Madame Destine home-schools Maria, and because Destine is afraid of unwanted attention, she forbids Maria from talking to others. Maria is allowed to go to the library, where new librarian Ms. Madigan takes an interest in Maria that may cause her trouble. Meanwhile, Sebastian, Maria’s new upstairs neighbor, would like to be friends. All this interaction makes it hard for Maria to keep her secret: that she is visited by Edward, a spirit who tells her the actual secrets of Madame Destine’s clients via spirit writing. When Edward urges Maria to help Mrs. Fisher, Madame Destine’s most recent mark, Maria must overcome her shyness and her fear of her mother—helping Mrs. Fisher may be the key to the mysterious past Maria uncovers and a brighter future. Alas, picture-book–creator Ford’s middle-grade debut is a muddled, melodramatic mystery with something of an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink feel: In addition to the premise, there’s a tragically dead father, a mysterious family tree, and the Beat poets. Sluggish pacing; stilted, unrealistic dialogue; cartoonishly stock characters; and unattractive, flat illustrations make this one to miss. Maria and Sebastian are both depicted with brown skin, hers lighter than his; the other principals appear to be white.
An effort as insubstantial as any spirit. (author’s note) (Paranormal mystery. 7-10)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-20567-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale.
After a tsunami devastates their habitat in the Salish Sea, a young orca and her brother embark on a remarkable adventure.
Vega’s matriarchal family expects her to become a hunter and wayfinder, with her younger brother, Deneb, protecting and supporting her. Invited to guide her family to their Gathering Place to hunt salmon, Vega’s underwater miscalculations endanger them all, and an embarrassed Vega questions whether she should be a wayfinder. When the baby sister she hoped would become her life companion is stillborn, a distraught Vega carries the baby away to a special resting place, shocking her grieving family. Dispatched to find his missing sister, Deneb locates Vega in the midst of a terrible tsunami. To escape the waters polluted by shattered boats, Vega leads Deneb into unfamiliar open sea. Alone and hungry, the young siblings encounter a spectacular giant whale and travel briefly with shark-hunting orcas. Trusting her instincts and gaining emotional strength from contemplating the vastness of the sky, Vega knows she must lead her brother home and help save her surviving family. In alternating first-person voices, Vega and Deneb tell their harrowing story, engaging young readers while educating them about the marine ecosystem. Realistic black-and-white illustrations enhance the maritime setting.
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale. (maps, wildlife facts, tribes of the Salish Sea watershed, environmental and geographical information, how to help orcas, author’s note, artist’s note, resources) (Animal fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299592-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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