A warmhearted fantasy tale about discovering the world’s complexity and finding one’s place in it.
In a seemingly idyllic village, a precocious 12-year-old finds himself entangled in mysterious magic that might upend the whole Belvederean Empire.
The Huckaby-Green family leads an exhausting but happily full life as innkeepers in Stargazers Valley, a quaint, isolated village reminiscent of Northern Europe where people use horses and carts and aurora borealis–like lights appear in the sky. Peter, an enthusiastic perfectionist, is helping raise his 3-year-old brother, Ollie, vying to win an empire-wide essay contest, and desperately trying not to come in last place in clambering, the empire’s central sport. Enter the Tinkerers, two guests at the inn who take Peter under their wing but whose goals and magical gadgets are mystifying. As Peter starts to unravel the history and relationships around him, he confronts opposition from the powerful empire and its clandestine forces. Carlson’s often humorous prose captures the big feelings of a boy on the precipice of adolescence. The book, which is framed as a dossier by the empire’s spy forces, alternately presents excerpts from Peter’s essay, the mythology of his culture, and transcripts of surveillance footage, effectively building a rich world and underlining the omnipresence of its colonizing force. The central themes include learning from mistakes, eschewing black-and-white morality, and recognizing the harms of colonization. Main characters read white, and names and physical descriptions cue ethnic diversity in the background cast.
A warmhearted fantasy tale about discovering the world’s complexity and finding one’s place in it. (Fantasy. 8-13)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781536230505
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short.
In the dystopian, totalitarian world of 2099, 14-year-old Tessa and her family are desperate to solve the mystery of her twin brother Theo’s disappearance.
Tessa is growing up in a time when playgrounds are historical relics, surveillance cameras are everywhere, music is outlawed, and owning books is illegal. Under the absolute rule of Zokiris, the decadeslong leader of her territory, people are heavily controlled. When Theo vanishes under mysterious circumstances and his name is erased from the Territory Statistics list, Tessa’s 135-year-old neighbor, Miriam, gives the family contraband books that become central to figuring out Theo’s whereabouts. Most books have long since been seized and stored away in Building 903; Tessa is intrigued by their presence in her home, while her mother is terrified. Lowry, the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Giver (1993), shines in her creation of uncomfortably believable dystopian societies. Tessa’s painfully limited world is fully imagined, with its own history, laws, and norms. Her relationship with her brother reads as realistic and tender and is crucial to the mystery. Miriam is the most strongly developed character: wise and independent, unafraid and hopeful. While the climb to the book’s climax is captivating, the hurried resolution is disappointing. The powerful messaging around the importance of literature and imagination certainly resonates, however. The main characters present white.
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short. (Dystopian. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780063515109
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic.
A loyal black kitten’s boy is under supernatural attack.
Eleven-month-old Nimbus loves Fletcher, the boy who nursed her back to health following life-threatening injuries. When Fletcher becomes curious about a strange jar and opens it, releasing a terrible goblin, loyal Nim protects Fletcher, taking heavy damage in the process. But Fletcher’s aunt, who’s caring for him over spring break, believes Nim attacked Fletcher and dumps her far from home. Rhett, a stylish rat with star quality, befriends injured Nim and leads her to a witch’s house. While the witch cares for Nim, the witch’s cats (maternal Fern, bookish Rochester, standoffish Bianca, and openly hostile Abraxas) teach Nim important cat skills. She also discovers she has a supernatural ability: In destroying one eye of the nightmare demon in the fight to protect Fletcher, Nim gained its “dream sight.” But she also learns it might come back for Fletcher, who no longer has Nim to protect him, posing a time-sensitive, high-stakes threat. Even though the witch’s home is nice and magic itself seems to be telling her to stay put, Nim wants to find a way back to Fletcher. As a hero, Nimbus is as gritty and determined as she is adorable. Tear-jerker moments explore pet abandonment—readers may want their own pets on hand to hug—all the way through the magical, action-packed finale. Fletcher and the witch read white.
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780062680372
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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