The book is actually quite short, but it turns out to be exactly the perfect length.
In theory, this adventure based in quantum physics could have gone on for another 100 chapters. In theory, it could have kept going forever.
The structure of the book is simple: Albie, an English lad, visits a parallel world, and then he visits another one. He does this by climbing inside a tiny Schrödinger box (the kind that held Schrödinger’s cat). It’s powered by something Albie calls Quantum Banana Theory. Scientists might quibble about the details. It really operates on what could be called the “Roger Rabbit principle”: it works because it’s funny. But like most comedies, the novel is based around a tragedy. Albie’s particle-physicist mother died two weeks before the start of the book, and he’s looking for a world where he can talk to her again. Many of Albie’s adventures are amusing or suspenseful, but each world is a little sadder than the last, because Albie’s mother is never there. Every world feels distinct and surprising, but Edge’s writing does have one odd quirk: a lack of physical description. Readers will need to use deductive reasoning to guess the races of most characters: Albie has green eyes and dark-brown hair, implying that he is white, and his best friend is a British-Asian boy named Kiran Ahmed. Albie’s reunion with his mother, when it comes, is utterly heartbreaking, and readers may be grateful they had so many chapters to prepare for it.
The book is actually quite short, but it turns out to be exactly the perfect length. (Science fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: May 30, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1357-7
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Echoes of Peter Pan notwithstanding, a less-than-seaworthy outing.
Endowed with the trappings of a comedic pirate yarn but not its heart, this series opener focuses more on one character’s soul-searching than nautical action.
Hardly has sheltered young “Old Worlder” Jem arrived on tropical islands believed to be haunted by the ghosts of exterminated natives than he is kidnapped by genteel pirates led by a grandiose pipsqueak. He is then rescued by the Lost Souls—an unwashed crew of orphans and runaways (all 13 or younger) sailing the supposed ghost ship Margaret’s Hop (the terminal “e” having been lost in the past) under the command of fiery but insecure Capt. Scarlet McCray. Guided by a map that belonged to his vanished uncle and pursued by the aforementioned pirates, Jem and the Lost Souls set out to find a fabled treasure. The search, however, proves little more than a vehicle for Scarlet’s continual second-guessing as she frets about being a proper, “captainly” leader and struggles to keep the Lost Souls entertained and a rebellious crew member in line. In the wake of numerous contrived obstacles overcome, the sudden re-emergence of Scarlet’s suppressed awareness that she’s half-Islander serves as a more sharply felt (if, at least for readers, not particularly cogent) climax than the discovery of the “treasure.” This turns out to be a glade so mystically peaceful that the fact that it’s surrounded by birds’ nests full of rubies comes across as just a nice added feature.
Echoes of Peter Pan notwithstanding, a less-than-seaworthy outing. (map, glossary) (Adventure. 10-12)Pub Date: July 5, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-448-45776-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2012
Surprises abound: Most threads are wrapped up, but there is room left for other books with these diverting characters.
From the very first line (“We've only got two weeks before Jake has to turn into a monster for the first time”) to the riveting ending, this fantasy will have readers turning pages recklessly.
Jake, son and grandson of men who disappeared without explanation, becomes enmeshed in the family mysteries when his (informally) adopted baby brother turns into a charming, fuzzy green monster. Jake and his sidekick “Weird Lily” Cawker leave our Earth and land in the world of Always October, where it is ever autumn, the landscape holds many dangers, and monsters reign over all. Their quest: Save both Earth and Almost October from a deranged monster. Documented in alternate chapters by Lily and Jake—which allows each one to end in a cliffhanger—the journey is exciting and moves along at a fine pace. Bursting with enticing characters and building tension, this book has everything a reader could want—breathtaking suspense, monstrously entertaining worldbuilding and lots of “punny” and burp-and-fart humor.
Surprises abound: Most threads are wrapped up, but there is room left for other books with these diverting characters. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-089095-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
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