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THE CASSANDRA CURSE

From the Muse Squad series , Vol. 1

Flawed but fun.

Callie decides whether to accept the role of one of the nine Muses in this duology opener.

Weird things start happening to and around Miami sixth grader Calliope Martinez-Silva, but when she crawls under her bed and then finds herself in London, that takes the cake. Callie discovers she’s been chosen to fulfill the role of Muse of Epic Poetry. It’s Callie’s job to inspire people, especially Fated Ones who have the potential to make a great impact on the world. Using the past tense, Callie chronicles her journey navigating her muse powers, getting to know the other new kid muses, protecting a Fated One at her school, and managing big changes with family and friends. The four 11-year-olds who make up the Muse Squad have distinct personalities and hail from around the world; in addition to Cuban American Callie, there’s Mela, an Indian girl from New Delhi, Nia, a black girl from Chicago, and Thalia, a white girl from London. Strangely, the adult muses put great responsibility on the Muse Squad, who receive minimal training before being expected to perform difficult tasks. The messages the narrative sends sometimes seem confused, when not downright contradictory. Readers willing to suspend disbelief and overlook these weaknesses will enjoy rooting for Callie and her new friends. Callie describes herself as “chubby,” so it’s too bad the cover illustration does not reflect a plus-size protagonist.

Flawed but fun. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Pub Date: July 7, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-06-294769-7

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020

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CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS AND THE TERRIFYING RETURN OF TIPPY TINKLETROUSERS

From the Captain Underpants series , Vol. 9

Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.

Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.

Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…

Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)

Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012

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CLUES TO THE UNIVERSE

Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.

An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.

Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.

Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)

Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020

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