Breathlessly paced adventure with rousingly eerie and icky notes.
Evildoers barely foiled in Monstrous Devices (2018) are back in strength to reopen an ominously named “Shadow Gate” in this sequel.
In the wake of a series of seemingly random art thefts, young Alex once again finds himself recruited by his glib, inscrutable Granddad for a running battle across Europe against mind-controlled robots and razor-edged drones. This time most of the action takes place in the Black Forest, where reality turns out to have thin spots. Along with being charged to figure out how to use his elusive, newly discovered powers to resurrect a dead man, Alex must somehow stymie murderous foes bent on a Walpurgisnacht exploit that may confer immortality on them, open a disastrous rent in the universe, or both. Though events set up hard tests of his loyalty and moral fiber, just as in the previous episode Alex comes off as a rather colorless protagonist next to the adult characters—all of whom, on both sides, sport intriguing combinations of martial prowess and mysterious pasts. Still, Love so packs his tale with car chases and wrecks, sudden attacks, desperate battles, narrow squeaks, weird visions, and startling discoveries, not to mention the occasional blast of magic and tentacled monster from otherwhere, that readers will be nonetheless swept along. Alex’s friend David and his family are Haitian, but otherwise characters present as white.
Breathlessly paced adventure with rousingly eerie and icky notes. (Horror/suspense/fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-451-47861-0
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A well-knit debut generously stocked with chills, thrills, and chancy exploits.
A young British teenager’s ordinary world takes a sudden spin to the dark side with the arrival of an antique toy robot that turns out to conceal a terrible, and terrifying, power.
Hardly has Alex unpacked the robot sent by his grandfather than he cuts himself on a sharp edge so that a little blood seeps into its workings. Cue the weirdness, starting with a homework assignment he doesn’t remember finishing and a bully who inexplicably beats a sudden retreat. It quickly escalates into a headlong flight with his grandad and a running fight with a squad of varied but uniformly scary automatons fueled themselves by blood. What’s up? Alex’s robot, it turns out, was crafted to hide a tablet inscribed with the secret name of God that Rabbi Loew used to animate his legendary golem…and nefarious parties are out to revive the clay monster for—well, nothing good. Confused, terror-stricken, and inarticulate throughout, Alex comes off as a pale character next to his creepy adversaries and, in particular, his dapper, glib, secretive, martially adroit, scene-stealing grandfather. Still, as events move along apace, he proves surprisingly resourceful. Love tucks in plenty of icky bits, along with cinematic set pieces and hairbreadth escapes, and he strews enough tantalizing hints about his protagonist’s murky past to excite interest in sequels. The human cast presents white.
A well-knit debut generously stocked with chills, thrills, and chancy exploits. (Horror/suspense/fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47858-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
A beautiful, visceral plunge into the perils that the train-jumping migrant brotherhood experiences.
Manuel follows in his brother’s footsteps as he jumps a train that will take him to the U.S.–Mexico border.
“Call me Manuel.” Johnston and Fontanot de Rhoads evoke Moby-Dick’s iconic opening in setting the scene for Manuel, a 12-year-old Mexican boy, to conquer The Beast and reunite with his brother Toño. Leaving behind his corn-farming family and the milpita they work in Oaxaca, Manuel rides The Beast, a name given by locals to the many trains traveling north. For many The Beast is a vehicle that will lead them to their hopes and dreams. For others, it is a monster that will tear away their limbs and disable them for life. With danger lurking on each train car, Manuel must be cautious of the brutal gangs that prey on the weak and rely on the bond that unites migrants on their harrowing journey and the patrons who help riders tame The Beast. Like the chugging of The Beast, Johnston’s poetic prose permeates Manuel’s journey and gives a steady rhythm to the story even as Oaxaca-based psychotherapist and translator Fontanot de Rhoads provides details to ground it. Without shying away from the cruel and often crude journey that migrants experience, the authors deliver a captivating story of travelers dreaming a better future and their incandescent fight to achieve it.
A beautiful, visceral plunge into the perils that the train-jumping migrant brotherhood experiences. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3363-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
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