Relatable characters ground a story that’s suspenseful, funny, and heartwarming.
Gartner’s middle-grade space adventure follows a boy’s space-travel adventure as it takes a dangerous turn.
“I’m pretty sure I’m about to die in space. And I just turned twelve and a half.” From this heart-pounding opening, readers are launched on a journey into the near future with Fin Scott, a tween with astronomical potential. Readers soon learn that Fin’s life changed when he received what he calls the “Package of Destiny”: His invention has won him the chance to train at NASA’s Houston facilities, board the Aether spacecraft to visit the International Space Station, and take a three-day trip to an outpost orbiting the moon. With his mom in the hospital and his dad spending most of his time with her, Fin wants nothing more than to get away; his uncle Dennis agrees to act as his guardian in space. At NASA headquarters, Fin meets his fellow contest winners—Mae Jorgenson, David Kalkutten, and Kal Agarwal—as well as the Aether’s commander, Marc Horowitz, and glowering “paper pusher” Mr. Deuce, who seems determined to shut the space program down. Together, the kids must train hard to prepare for their upcoming mission, but as problems begin to mount, it starts to appear that there may be a saboteur among them. Things get worse when the group launches into space, where multiple disasters strike. Over the course of this book, Gartner delivers a story in which naturalistic dialogue flows effortlessly, which has the effect of capturing the kids’ simultaneous joy and trepidation at being surrounded by adults who take them (mostly) seriously. At one point, for example, Fin tells Mae, “For what it’s worth, you are the best fourteen-year-old pilot I know.” She responds, “Yeah, I’m pretty great,” although Fin “can tell it’s with a hint of teasing herself.” Overall, it’s a well-paced tale that will remind young readers of the truly breathtaking wonders of space travel.
Relatable characters ground a story that’s suspenseful, funny, and heartwarming.Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2023
ISBN: 9781734155297
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crescent Vista Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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