Returning to the vividly portrayed imaginary medieval world of Jackaroo (1985), Voigt tells of another-innkeeper's daughter, two generations later, who also struggles with her society's rigidity on her way to a self-defined, productive life. By chance, Birle sees a stranger (Orien) taking her father's boat; in trying to retrieve it, she unexpectedly joins him on a long, adventurous trek clown the river—during which they only begin to know each other: she realizes that he is of the nobility, while he is soon depending on her competence for life's necessities. Reaching the sea, they founder on a desolate rock; their "rescuers" sell them as slaves in a foreign city. There, Birle is lucky enough to learn healing herb lore, but Orien suffers the humiliation of the mines, from which he barely escapes with his life. Reunited, they agree to marry and return to their own country and to the difficult choices that still await them. Voigt is a master of pure story; her enthralling narratives are seamlessly interwoven with telling perceptions of human nature. Here, the reader is somewhat distanced from characters who are more symbolic than those in her realistic fiction. Birle's master when she is a slave is a kind but amoral philosopher, brother to a cruel despot; in a parallel crucial to Voigt's theme, Orion abdicates rule to his younger brother, a stern but compassionate judge, choosing for himself a simpler, more creative life. A satisfying love story, a grand adventure, and a rich mix of ideas and action.
Pub Date: March 1, 1990
ISBN: 0689829574
Page Count: 421
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1990
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
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
© Copyright 2025 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.
