By the final cliffhanger, readers will be primed for a sequel; the trick will be getting them there.
Eighth grader Jack Carlson may well be the chosen one of prophecy—but not the way readers might think.
After his best friend presents a poorly received class report on the mysterious titular institution, Jack inexplicably finds himself deposited on its doorstep. One instructor proclaims Jack to be the long-awaited Guardian, prophesied to kill the Reaper King, but the rest, more skeptical, give Jack and his hastily assembled team just three days to prove themselves. As the deadline looms, everything starts to go horribly, disastrously wrong….This may come from an evangelical Christian imprint, but any religious message here is kept strictly subtextual. Jack, apparently white, is a nice enough but somewhat bland protagonist; his teammates are more diverse (cued by naming convention and mention of skin color) and agreeably quirky, if a bit one-note. While it’s difficult to see a secretive school that kidnaps children to train as “borderline psychopath” soldiers through brainwashing, torturous interrogations, and mandatory death matches as a force for good, their opponents are undoubtedly irredeemably monstrous. Unfortunately, the first part of the story is a tedious agglomerate of contrived exposition, clichéd set pieces, and cringeworthy coincidences; it’s a pity because about halfway through, the narrative suddenly twists into an intense thrill ride, with battles and betrayals and (literally) an apocalyptic body count, concluding in a clever subversion of that chosen-one trope.
By the final cliffhanger, readers will be primed for a sequel; the trick will be getting them there. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4002-1534-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
This stands out for its unusual setting and smooth integration of friendship and family concerns. (Fiction. 10-14)
Sucked into "business" with a crooked classmate, bowling fanatic Lamar Washington makes good money faking his skills, but when a disruptive prank reveals his new friend Billy’s duplicity, he realizes how wrong it was to aim to be “the smoothest baddest dude” in Coffin, Ind.
This refreshing first novel is told in the first person with plenty of snappy dialogue by a smart African-American middle-schooler whose asthma has kept him out of the usual sports and whose older brother, a basketball star, consistently taunts him. Lamar’s new friendship threatens both a longstanding one and a promising new relationship with a girl. Tension mounts as Lamar is drawn further into an unsavory gambling world, realizing that his cheating is wrong but thrilled to have the cash to buy a Bubba Sanders bowling ball. A final, seriously physical fight with his brother leads to climactic arrests. The drab rigidity of Camp Turnaround, where Billy is incarcerated, contrasts with the excitement of the bowling alley Lamar loves. His grounding and community service seem appropriate. His understanding of the consequences of his prank fire alarm, both for his brother and for his basketball-mad small town, comes slowly and realistically, and the solution of his family issues is satisfying.
This stands out for its unusual setting and smooth integration of friendship and family concerns. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-199272-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
A coming-of-age story as tender and sweet as a summer evening breeze
Summer adventures begin when Bina accidentally locks herself out of her house in Larson’s newest middle-grade graphic novel.
The summer before eighth grade is a season of self-discovery for many 13-year-olds, including Bina, when her best friend heads off to soccer camp and leaves her alone to navigate a SoCal summer. Without athletic Austin around to steer the ship, Bina must pursue her own passions, such as discovering new bands and rocking out on her electric guitar. Unexpected friendships bloom, and new members are welcomed into her family. Though her sphere grows over the summer, friendship with Austin is strained when he returns, and Bina must learn to embrace the proverb to make new friends but keep the old. As her mother wisely observes, “you’re more you every day,” and by the end of summer Bina is more comfortable in her own skin and ready to rock eighth grade. Larson’s panels are superb at revealing emotional conflict, subtext, and humor within the deceptively simple third-person limited plot, allowing characters to grow and develop emotionally over only a few spreads. She also does a laudable job of depicting a diverse community for Bina to call home. Though Bina’s ethnicity is never overtly identified, her racial ambiguity lends greater universality to her story. (In the two-toned apricot, black, and white panels, Bina and her mother have the same black hair and gold skin, while her dad is white, as is Austin.)
A coming-of-age story as tender and sweet as a summer evening breeze . (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-374-30485-0
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
PROFILES
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
