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
Medically, both squicky and hopeful; emotionally, unbelievably squeaky-clean.
A 12-year-old copes with a brain tumor.
Maddie likes potatoes and fake mustaches. Kids at school are nice (except one whom readers will see instantly is a bully); soon they’ll get to perform Shakespeare scenes in a unit they’ve all been looking forward to. But recent dysfunctions in Maddie’s arm and leg mean, stunningly, that she has a brain tumor. She has two surgeries, the first successful, the second taking place after the book’s end, leaving readers hanging. The tumor’s not malignant, but it—or the surgeries—could cause sight loss, personality change, or death. The descriptions of surgery aren’t for the faint of heart. The authors—parents of a real-life Maddie who really had a brain tumor—imbue fictional Maddie’s first-person narration with quirky turns of phrase (“For the love of potatoes!”) and whimsy (she imagines her medical battles as epic fantasy fights and pretends MRI stands for Mustard Rat from Indiana or Mustaches Rock Importantly), but they also portray her as a model sick kid. She’s frightened but never acts out, snaps, or resists. Her most frequent commentary about the tumor, having her skull opened, and the possibility of death is “Boo” or “Super boo.” She even shoulders the bully’s redemption. Maddie and most characters are white; one cringe-inducing hallucinatory surgery dream involves “chanting island natives” and a “witch doctor lady.”
Medically, both squicky and hopeful; emotionally, unbelievably squeaky-clean. (authors’ note, discussion questions) (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62972-330-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A wild romp that champions making space for vulnerable creatures and each other.
A boy with ADHD explores nature and himself.
Eleven-year-old Jake Rizzi just wants to be seen as “normal”; he blames his brain for leading him into trouble and making him do things that annoy his peers and even his own parents. Case in point: He’s stuck spending a week in rural Oregon with an aunt he barely knows while his parents go on vacation. Jake’s reluctance changes as he learns about the town’s annual festival, during which locals search for a fabled turtle. But news of this possibly undiscovered species has spread. Although Aunt Hettle insists to Jake that it’s only folklore, the fame-hungry convene, sure that the Ruby-Backed Turtle is indeed real—just as Jake discovers is the case. Keeping its existence secret is critical to protecting the rare creature from a poacher and others with ill intentions. Readers will keep turning pages to find out how Jake and new friend Mia will foil the caricatured villains. Along the way, Bramucci packs in teachable moments around digital literacy, mindfulness, and ecological interdependence, along with the message that “the only way to protect the natural world is to love it.” Jake’s inner monologue elucidates the challenges and benefits of ADHD as well as practical coping strategies. Whether or not readers share Jake’s diagnosis, they’ll empathize with his insecurities. Jake and his family present white; Mia is Black, and names of secondary characters indicate some ethnic diversity.
A wild romp that champions making space for vulnerable creatures and each other. (Adventure. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781547607020
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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