The sheep-herding border collie of Away To Me, Moss (1994) changes another life after being mauled by coyotes and stolen by animal rights extremists. Jody’s house is filled with cats and other creatures rescued from locked cars by his mother and aunt, members of a loosely organized cell of activists. He is often dragged along on their forays, to provide a lookout and, if required, a diversion, and the stress has made him a compulsive eater, sullen and unresponsive to both of his divorced parents. Inspired by rumors of mistreated animals, members of the group attend a New Hampshire sheep-herding trial, where their efforts to remove the sheep end in a deadly melee after a pack of coyotes attacks; as the group escapes, they come upon Moss by the side of the road, bloody and barely alive. Afraid to go back, they carefully pick him up and drive away. Though Jody doesn’t like dogs (or any animals), he reluctantly accepts responsibility for Moss’s care, half-carrying the collie at first, then as brief walks turn into ever more strenuous runs, realizing that Moss will never be well away from his rightful owners. How is he going to get Moss back without giving himself and his mother away? While Levin is sympathetic to their concerns, the activists are portrayed as naive and close-minded, well-meaning but causing as much harm as good; Jody is more clearheaded, at least by the end, although he is so wrapped up in Moss’s welfare that readers are more aware of the changes in him than he is. Readers attracted by the strongly drawn main characters will find the author’s unusually even-handed treatment of a sensitive issue worth pondering. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-688-15696-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1998
Less charming than the opener but does feature a thimbleful of moral quandary at its center.
Armed only with her magical sewing needle, foundling mouse Delphine sets out to confront the cruel rat king in this duology closer.
As vicious rat armies pillage the mouse realms in search of her and her pointy, long-hidden treasure, Delphine finds herself waging an inner war that parallels the outer one. According to dusty documents and other reputable sources, the needle’s good powers can be perverted, but she sees no other way except killing to stop evil rat King Midnight. While struggling with a grim determination to go over to the dark side that sets her at odds with her own fundamentally loving nature, Delphine threads her way along with loyal allies past various scrapes—only to come, climactically, face to face with not only her nemesis, but her own past. Moon stitches in flashbacks to fill out the details of a tragic old love triangle that reaches its fruition here and sews her tale up with a return to Château Desjardins just in time for Cinderella’s wedding and a celebratory rodentine ball in the chandelier overhead, and she leaves a fringe of epilogue hinting at further installments to come.
Less charming than the opener but does feature a thimbleful of moral quandary at its center. (secret codes) (Animal fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-04833-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Fans of mythology-based fantasies will devour this adventure and anxiously await the next installment.
Abby is your average 12-year-old North Carolinian—and Viking.
She has been eager for years to follow in her mother's footsteps as an Aesir, or Viking warrior charged with protecting the world from Grendels, descendants of the same monster faced down by Beowulf. Still reeling from her mother’s death four years ago, Abby is worried because she hasn’t developed the unusual abilities needed by Aesirs. After she is attacked at home, she and her father head to Vale Hall, an elite Minnesota private school her mother also attended. Along the way they are attacked again, and her father falls into a mysterious coma. Abby is positive a Grendel is after her, but the Viking council at Vale Hall doesn't believe her. She quickly befriends Grimsby and Gwynn, each with their own burdens and secrets. Together they try to find a cure for her father, in the process uncovering secrets from her mother's past and discovering some truths hiding at Vale Hall. This entertaining debut novel seamlessly blends Norse mythology with a modern-day setting to tell an action-packed and humorous story. In addition, the book explores grief, growing up, and starting over with sensitivity and insight. Abby and most other characters are cued as White; Gwynn is described as Asian American.
Fans of mythology-based fantasies will devour this adventure and anxiously await the next installment. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-63607-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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