A fast, fun friendship tale full of magic and misfortune.
This debut middle-grade fantasy sees a witch come into her powers while facing dangers and prejudice at a supernatural boarding school.
On the day she turns 13 years old, Ava Marie Jones runs away from her domineering adoptive mother and falls through an enchanted gateway into Xarcadia, an underground realm where the world’s magical creatures (“magites”) live safely isolated from humanity. Ava, it turns out, is a witch. She is also one of the Lost Ones—children who, because their parents disapprove of Xarcadia’s strict isolationist policy, are sent to spend their formative years beyond the gilded cage. Ava is thrilled and enchanted by her new home. But unlike the other Lost Ones, she does not find her birth mother and father waiting to greet her. Indeed, it seems likely that they are (or were) members of The Resistance movement that opposes the High Court and its ruling warlock. Ava is unique among Xarcadians in not having been surveillance tagged by The Registry—an omission that proves impossible to rectify. Ava is soon dubbed the Impossible Girl. She starts school alongside her new friends Tara (a witch) and Duncan (a vampire). But when Ava proves to have inherently strong magical abilities, she becomes a target of malicious rumormongering—especially when the murders start. Can Ava prove her innocence and find acceptance in Xarcadia? In this series opener, White writes in the third person from Ava’s point of view, presenting an easy mix of narrative descriptions, inner thoughts, and realistic, middle-grade dialogue. Ava is a likable character, good-hearted in spite of the hand she’s been dealt. Her new friends are charismatic, and her archenemy’s over-the-top spiteful. The setup has distinct Harry Potter vibes, but such is the depth of the author’s imagination that the similarities don’t come across as derivative or stale. At times, the prose is a little too exuberant for its own good, with words tumbling over themselves at a speed to match Ava’s disorientation or excitement. While the story as a whole is gripping, the final showdown comes and goes with unseemly haste. Nonetheless, middle-grade readers will dive into Ava’s adventures and find themselves carried along, railing at injustices and eagerly awaiting the next installment.
A fast, fun friendship tale full of magic and misfortune.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-957656-00-7
Page Count: 314
Publisher: Monarch Educational Services, L.L.C.
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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