A mostly engaging, enjoyable sequel.
Laing (Look Ahead, Look Back, 2012, etc.) continues the adventures of three time-traveling children in this second installment of the Snipesville Chronicles.
Having returned unscathed from WWII–era England, siblings Hannah and Alex and their friend Brandon find themselves accidentally headed back in time again, this time to the 1850s Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and the U.S. As in the previous novel, the three children get separated, though they end up working their ways back to one another over the course of the adventure. Alex in particular, who is alone in the antebellum American South, has difficulty coping with moral quandaries of the time. Also like the first book, the children must solve a mystery with implications for the present, and they once again receive help from quirky Dr. Harrower, who pops up throughout the story to help them and offer clues. There are just enough allusions to the first book to explain the children’s predicament, but the sequel isn’t quite as engaging as the first one, as the mystery here is harder to figure out and the stakes, difficult to discern. Furthermore, the professor remains a bit undeveloped: she’s supposed to be the kids’ (and, therefore, the readers’) guide to the magic found in the story, but she mostly seems befuddled, without a good sense of why she and the kids keep bouncing around through time. Yet Laing’s combination of historical detail and sheer sense of fun carry through and help make the story an enjoyable read. She brings her setting vividly to life and clearly conveys the specific pitfalls of the time period. However, as in the first book, some of the dialogue remains a little trite, especially from Hannah, an irritated teenager who spouts too many lines like “Whatever, TMI.” Laing still manages to bring a welcome breath of fresh air to the time-traveling adventure, and she thankfully leaves the door open for more books to continue the story.
A mostly engaging, enjoyable sequel.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-692-00125-7
Page Count: 299
Publisher: Confusion Press
Review Posted Online: July 24, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Poignant, respectful, and historically accurate while pulsating with emotional turmoil, adventure, and suspense.
In the midst of political turmoil, how do you escape the only country that you’ve ever known and navigate a new life? Parallel stories of three different middle school–aged refugees—Josef from Nazi Germany in 1938, Isabel from 1994 Cuba, and Mahmoud from 2015 Aleppo—eventually intertwine for maximum impact.
Three countries, three time periods, three brave protagonists. Yet these three refugee odysseys have so much in common. Each traverses a landscape ruled by a dictator and must balance freedom, family, and responsibility. Each initially leaves by boat, struggles between visibility and invisibility, copes with repeated obstacles and heart-wrenching loss, and gains resilience in the process. Each third-person narrative offers an accessible look at migration under duress, in which the behavior of familiar adults changes unpredictably, strangers exploit the vulnerabilities of transients, and circumstances seem driven by random luck. Mahmoud eventually concludes that visibility is best: “See us….Hear us. Help us.” With this book, Gratz accomplishes a feat that is nothing short of brilliant, offering a skillfully wrought narrative laced with global and intergenerational reverberations that signal hope for the future. Excellent for older middle grade and above in classrooms, book groups, and/or communities looking to increase empathy for new and existing arrivals from afar.
Poignant, respectful, and historically accurate while pulsating with emotional turmoil, adventure, and suspense. (maps, author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: July 25, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-88083-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
PROFILES
© Copyright 2025 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.
