A brainy, action-packed fantasy outing even more complex and sophisticated than series opener Foundry’s Edge (2015)....
Phoebe Plumm and Micah Tanner bravely search for the mysterious Occulyth, which they hope will resolve all of their challenges in this second of the Books of Ore.
Phoebe blames herself for the loss of her father, Dr. Jules Plumm, a former key employee of the Foundry, the powerful Meridian-based technology company that exploits the metal creatures of Mehk. Meanwhile the Covenant, the resistance army made up of disaffected mehkans, is fighting back against the Foundry’s imperialism and looking to Phoebe and Micah to help. Phoebe, who turns 13 in this installment, is thrust into the limelight, seeking an illuminated path and wondering how to act around ardent warriors who treat her like a saint. Baity and Zelkowicz, both animators, enter into some heavy-duty worldbuilding in this volume, complete with an origin story, new allies and enemies, and an extensive original vocabulary. They even create a whole religion—including excerpts from Scripture—that is refreshingly female-dominated. The novel explores themes of political, environmental, and even spiritual plundering as well as what it means to be Waybound. Phoebe insists: “People will change….They’ll have to.”
A brainy, action-packed fantasy outing even more complex and sophisticated than series opener Foundry’s Edge (2015). (glossary) (Fantasy. 11-14)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6239-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
A charming adaptation.
A miscommunication leaves Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert responsible for a plucky, effusive orphan girl instead of the boy they’d expected to help maintain their farm.
Retold in traditional manga format, with right-to-left panel orientation and detailed black-and-white linework, this adaptation is delightfully faithful to the source text. Larger panels establish the idyllic country landscape while subtle text boxes identify the setting—Prince Edward Island, Canada, in the 1870s. The book follows redheaded Anne Shirley from her arrival at Green Gables at 11 to her achievement of a college scholarship. In the intervening years, Anne finds stability, friendship, personal growth, and ambition in Avonlea and in the strict but well-intentioned Cuthbert siblings’ household. The familiar story is enhanced by the exciting new format and lush illustrations. A variety of panel layouts provides visual freshness, maintaining reader interest. Backmatter includes the floor plan of the Green Gables house, as well as interior and exterior views, and notes about research on the actual location. A description of the process of adapting the novel to this visual format indicates the care that was taken to highlight particular elements of the story as well as to remain faithful to the smallest details. Readers who find the original text challenging will welcome this as an aid to comprehension and Anne’s existing fans will savor a fresh perspective on their beloved story. All characters appear to be White.
A charming adaptation. (Graphic fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-947808-18-8
Page Count: 308
Publisher: Manga Classics
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Awful on a number of levels—but tidily over at last.
The rebellion against an evil archmage and his bowler-topped minions wends its way to a climax.
Dispatching five baddies on the first two pages alone, wand-waving villain-exterminator Vega Jane gathers a motley army of fellow magicals, ghosts, and muggles—sorry, “Wugmorts”—for a final assault on Necro and his natty Maladons. As Necro repeatedly proves to be both smarter and more powerful than Vega Jane, things generally go badly for the rebels, who end up losing their hidden refuge, many of their best fighters, and even the final battle. Baldacci is plainly up on his ancient Greek theatrical conventions, however; just as all hope is lost, a divinity literally descends from the ceiling to referee a winner-take-all duel, and thanks to an earlier ritual that (she and readers learn) gives her a do-over if she’s killed (a second deus ex machina!), Vega Jane comes away with a win…not to mention an engagement ring to go with the magic one that makes her invisible and a new dog, just like the one that died heroically. Measuring up to the plot’s low bar, the narrative too reads like low-grade fanfic, being laden with references to past events, characters who only supposedly died, and such lines as “a spurt of blood shot out from my forehead,” “they started falling at a rapid number,” and “[h]is statement struck me on a number of levels.”
Awful on a number of levels—but tidily over at last. (glossary) (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-26393-0
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
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