This decidedly off-beat import combines a unique imaginary world with the flavor of traditional tales and adventure stories to create an engaging, episodic read. Born from an egg and made of wood, Barkbelly knows of no other people like him. Set apart by his strength and rapid growth, Barkbelly’s alienation increases when he causes the accidental death of a playmate. Running from retribution, he journeys to an industrial town where he finds both friendship and hardship. On the run again, he joins a circus troupe and learns about the country of his origin from one of the well-traveled performers there. Determined to find his family, Barkbelly works on a ship, survives a pirate attack, reaches his island home and, ultimately, finds where he belongs. Weatherill’s plotting is delightfully unpredictable but never unlikely. Characterization is brisk but effective and despite the unusual names, it’s easy to tell individuals apart. Like Barkbelly himself, this is a unique creation that will find favor with a small, appreciative readership. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: June 13, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-83327-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Like its predecessor, a satisfying, Incredibles-style mix of awesome exploits and common family issues.
Deprived of superpowers in the previous episode (Almost Super, 2014), can the Bailey and Johnson clans put aside their squabbles to tackle their common nemesis, the Joneses?
Determined to prove that they have the mettle to join their parents and relatives in fighting crime, 13-year-old Rafter Bailey, his little brother, Benny, and erstwhile rival Juanita Johnson (definitely the brains of the trio) kick off their own search for the Joneses’ secret hideout. Little do they suspect that those clever villains have planted a ringer in their very midst. Sabotage and other distractions ensue, until Juanita’s sudden disappearance sharpens not only the urgency of the search, but also Rafter’s guilt for being a poor friend. The kidnapping turns out to be a crucial mistake for the bad guys, however, as resourceful Juanita gets off a call for help that both brings the Baileys and Johnsons together for a collective rescue operation and, amid much breakage of glass and heroic feats of derring-do, foils the evil schemes of scenery-chewing archfiend October Jones. Rafter makes a likable narrator, emotionally open and determined to be both a good superhero and a good friend.
Like its predecessor, a satisfying, Incredibles-style mix of awesome exploits and common family issues. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-220958-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
An imaginative premise ill-served by its execution.
It’s a pirate’s life for Lintang.
For Lintang, humans and “mythies,” magical powerful creatures, tensely coexist. (A creature profile foreshadows some chapters.) Inspired by legends, Lintang yearns for adventure beyond her home island of Tolus. However, she only manages to make trouble despite good intentions and warnings from best friend Bayani. Her fortune turns when the infamous pirate captain Shafira appears, offering to rid the island of a deadly Night Terror in exchange for a child from the village—a necessity for a ship’s safe passage past Nyasamdra, the island’s sea guardian. Impressed by Lintang’s spunk, Shafira takes the girl onboard, promising a safe return and a priceless necklace to Lintang’s mother as collateral. The all-female pirate crew prepares to hunt sirens when attacks from mythies and a stowaway Bayani—as a boy, vulnerable to sirens’ calls—reveal a more complicated history. A bigger adventure ensues. Lintang’s impulsive tendencies push the plot along, at times frustratingly so. Moss models characters and worldbuilding after aspects of Southeast Asian cultures and Indonesian myths in addition to Western folklore and her own imagination. Inconsistencies coupled with the lack of a cohesive cultural system lead to disjointed details that detract from the story. Several twists provide a peak in intrigue and possibilities but in the end generate more questions than answers, hinting at a sequel.
An imaginative premise ill-served by its execution. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-46030-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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