Callaghan’s debut possesses many similarities to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and will likely find a place among...
Stock up now! The end of chocolate is nigh.
The ancient Chocolati tribe of Easter Egg Island worshipped chocolate, but they also prophesied that the 66th cycle of Cacao-Cacao will bring about the Chocopocalypse. Jennifer “Jelly Welly” Wellington lives with her poor but lovingly wacky parents and grandmother in Chompton-on-de-Lyte, the chocolate center of the world. Although chocolate is about to disappear forever, there’s a new chocolate shop in town. Its owner, Garibaldi Chocolati, claims to offer the best chocolate in the world, but Jelly discovers it’s truly awful. Who is this man dressed like a Victorian big-game hunter who sells terrible chocolate? Jelly and her grandmother are on the trail. Gender roles are slightly subverted: Gran was a scientist; Dad does the sewing; and Mum works long hours to make ends meet. Everyone appears to be white, however, and colonialist and Orientalist themes run deep. Chocolati claims to be descended from a tribe of the same name who celebrated summer solstice by “eating lots of chocolate, drinking lots of tropical concoctions, and generally dancing like there was no tomorrow,” while the sultan of Swang, who embodies the stereotype of the extravagantly rich Arab ruler, pays $5 billion for a bit of chocolate.
Callaghan’s debut possesses many similarities to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and will likely find a place among readers who enjoy Dahl’s humor. (chocolate facts) (Fantasy. 7-12)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1915-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Thought-provoking and charming.
A sophisticated robot—with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell—is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500.
When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment—not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different “accent”). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz’s growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell’s The Animal Family. At every moment Roz’s actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz’s benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions—and readers—with hope.
Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-38199-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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