Poor pacing, jerky plot, uneven content: skip.
Following From the Grave (2016), Frank and the misfits face a plot against them and bully Malcolm struggles with his family secret.
Seventh-grade troll Malcolm McNastee is devastated that his father didn’t actually die a hero and instead was exiled to Exxillium, a place of shame for inferior “misfit” monsters. Malcolm’s father has been newly rescued by Frankenstein monster Frank (a misfit due to his not-so-scary blue skin and fastidious ways) and his sixth-grade friends. Chapters alternate between Frank and Malcolm, with Frank keeping secret his revolutionary activities and worrying about a missing friend, and Malcolm grappling with his father’s status as a hated outcast and also doing evil Principal Snaggle’s bidding. Snaggle has a plan to send the Odd Monsters Out class on a field trip to the Shadowlands during a dangerous storm in hopes that none of them will return. Several of the story’s elements—the principal’s plot to kill students, a storyline about aggressive conformity, a dream that Malcolm has about sending the misfits through a human shredder, and even some suicidal ideation—are at odds with cutesy monster-themed names and puns (Moanday, Tooshday, Shocktober, and, leaving the calendar behind, “horrorcane” and “slybrary,” for instance). The vast majority of the tale is buildup, with the titular trip over in a blink, to be quickly followed by setup for the next book.
Poor pacing, jerky plot, uneven content: skip. (Fantasy/horror. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63163-134-4
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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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