This goofy paranormal is packed with plenty of joyful silliness, from iridescent aliens to disgusting breakfast, despite...
When their parents decide to move to Forgotten Bay to take over a dilapidated seaside hotel where even radios don't work, Amelia and James are horrified.
Amelia, who misses gymnastics and her old friends, can't bear it. The hotel is freaky, their friends are far away, and the caretaker is a sinister old man with an eye patch and "something wrong" with his fingers: "He's missing a finger—creepy." It would be completely unbearable if it weren't for Charlie, the dorky local boy who's befriended Amelia and agrees that Tom's missing finger is "so creepy." There are plenty of mysteries to investigate in this shabby resort. There's the gadget that Charlie and Amelia find that “looks like lipstick for a robot” and seems to work like a camera. There's a giant tank of centipedes and a suitcase full of enticing, mesmerizing jewels. Even after they solve this set of mysteries, plenty of secrets are left for future series entries: who is Lady Naomi? What was the Whatever It Was that happened at James' old school? Is there something special behind the secret door hidden behind the painting of Matilda Swervingthorpe in Amelia's bedroom? What about the Krskn? Amelia, James, Charlie, and the lot all appear to be white in the uncredited illustrations. “Jones” is a pseudonym for Chris Morphew, Rowan McAuley, and David Harding.
This goofy paranormal is packed with plenty of joyful silliness, from iridescent aliens to disgusting breakfast, despite distracting, stale overuse of disability-as-horror tropes . (Science fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61067-498-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers.
First volume of a planned three, this edited version of an ongoing online serial records a middle-school everykid’s triumphs and (more often) tribulations through the course of a school year.
Largely through his own fault, mishaps seem to plague Greg at every turn, from the minor freak-outs of finding himself permanently seated in class between two pierced stoners and then being saddled with his mom for a substitute teacher, to being forced to wrestle in gym with a weird classmate who has invited him to view his “secret freckle.” Presented in a mix of legible “hand-lettered” text and lots of simple cartoon illustrations with the punch lines often in dialogue balloons, Greg’s escapades, unwavering self-interest and sardonic commentary are a hoot and a half.
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8109-9313-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
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