Young robot enthusiasts will surely be amused.
A mildly techy science-fiction series makes its debut.
When Jackbot, 11-year-old George Gearing’s rather clunky companion robot, is accidently run over by a car in which professor Droid’s daughter is a passenger, George’s access to the professor’s laboratory allows him to try out his new programming ideas for the repair. Jackbot acquires independent intelligence but is immediately stolen, and George and Anne Droid must dodge various murderous intelligent machines as they track down the missing robot. Terabyte Heights is a company town dominated by TinkerTech Enterprises. Everybody seems to own at least one robot, and character names are in keeping with the theme (Principal Qwerty runs the school; a policeman is Officer Dongle). Most of the robots are either stereotypically tinny and lumbering or inventively silly and menacing; specific allusions to challenges of software, hardware and programming are notably few. This first in the series has the narrative simplicity and pacing of a movie companion. A scattering of lively illustrations look like animation cels and add visual interest and cinematic feel to the undemanding, action-packed, occasionally comical narrative. Though immediate threats are resolved and an evil genius thwarted, the mystery of George’s parents’ long-ago deaths and the nature of “Project Mercury” are left for future development and explanation.
Young robot enthusiasts will surely be amused. (Science fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-33936-1
Page Count: 192
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
May pique castle envy.
This enjoyable romp turns mischief into political action and a stone palace into a cunning character.
Castle Glower always chooses its own king, and its current is Celie’s father. Celie’s family knows the castle’s rules—for example, no matter where you are, “if you turned left three times and climbed through the next window, you’d end up in the kitchens”—so they navigate fine, even when Castle Glower gets bored of a Tuesday and grows a new room or hallway. When disaster strikes, the castle’s protective love becomes paramount. Celie’s parents and eldest brother Bran are reported killed in an ambush, leaving three siblings at home to fend off a foreign prince who’s trying to assassinate Celie’s brother Rolf and steal the crown. Pranks such as spreading manure on the soles of shoes and snipping threads so the baddies’ clothes fall off make the siblings (and readers) giggle, but underneath the capers lies a bit of deftly written grief and fear. Luckily there are comforting clues: If King Glower were really dead, wouldn’t this sentient, active castle have adapted heir Rolf’s bedroom into a king’s room? Instead, the foreign prince’s rooms become ever smaller and bleaker, proving the castle’s disapproval; but Celie and sibs still need to win the day. Never fear: These kids are clever, as is George’s lively adventure.
May pique castle envy. (Fantasy. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59990-644-7
Page Count: 254
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
A story whose idea has potential but that needs characters with real depth and a more complex and consistent plot to have...
The peculiar residents of Eldritch Manor return.
In what is basically a rerun with a few more characters, 12-year-old Willa once again interacts with the odd senior citizens (actually mythical creatures in human form) that she first encountered at their retirement home in Book 1. As in the first book, the plot revolves around forces of evil in the form of spreading dark holes from which unpleasant creatures emerge. Willa, the quarrelsome senior citizens, and myriad fantasy beings engage in battle with the evil creatures. While the story’s bones have potential, the members of the plot’s too-large cast of characters are too thinly sketched to engage readers’ connection, and even Willa, the protagonist, comes across as more flat than intriguing. A weak plot twist carries little resonance, as the character it involves is one-dimensional, and its overall theme—anger contributes to evil—is presented in a tension-killing, obvious, didactic manner. While the story contains much action, it relies heavily on telling rather than showing, which has the effect of coming across as repetitive and confusing rather than heart-racing. A promising storyline—that of Willa’s grandmother, begun in Book 1—does not develop here.
A story whose idea has potential but that needs characters with real depth and a more complex and consistent plot to have impact. (Fantasy. 8-11)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4597-3205-6
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Dundurn
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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