Frenetic pacing enlivens environmental preaching in this eco-thriller follow-up to Firestorm (2006). Meet Jack Danielson, high-school hero. Likes sentence fragments. Sent back in time from an apocalyptic future and saved the world. Now he just wants to see P.J., his high-school sweetheart. Uh-oh! She’s been kidnapped! The future’s in peril again! It’s up to Jack, telepathic pooch Gisco and “Ninjababe” Eko to save the rainforests from the fiendish depredations of a spidery super-villain! Except they don’t really do anything. Everything comes down to some mystic-wizard-ex-machina, actually named “the Mysterious Kidah.” We keep hearing how brave and smart P.J. is, but mostly she gets tied up and screams “Ja-a-ack! Help!” Oh, and trades catty comments with Eko over who’s going to end up with Jack. But hey, look! Unspoiled nature-wise indigenous tribes! Evil drug smugglers! Hot-air balloons! Scary gross Amazonian critters! Ninety-two chapters. Ninety-two cliffhangers. Guys looking for nonstop action with a heavy dose of political correctness will eat this up. Anyone looking for careful writing, character development or a thoughtful exploration of important issues will throw it against the wall. (Science fiction. YA)
Pub Date: March 25, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-374-32308-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2008
Combines the best parts of the earlier books with confidence and creativity, sustaining strong momentum throughout.
Friendships, romance, and long-awaited answers combine for a triumphant trilogy closer.
A couple of dramatic prologues and some early exposition bring readers up to speed about the mysteries and players of Hemlock Falls. Winnie Wednesday, Erica Thursday, and Jay Friday have formed a clue-gathering trio collectively known as the WTF triangle. The three agree to work together to uncover the truth behind mysteries involving Winnie’s missing father and Erica’s late sister. Winnie’s star has risen in this entry: Characters who teased her during the events of the first book are now cheerfully welcoming toward her, and her romance with werewolf Jay continues to heat up. Her ongoing guilt and trauma over deaths from prior books ground the narrative, while sprinkled-in pop-culture references and a recurring Emily Dickinson motif showcase her nerdy personality. Changes in the format—such as scriptlike dialogue sequences and daily schedules for the Nightmare Masquerade—break up the narration in creative ways. The eventual reveal of a looming threat that’s targeting everyone Winnie knows starts the countdown of a ticking clock within the story. Meanwhile, a slew of fantasy monsters ensure high enough stakes, suspense, and action to bring the story to a heart-racing and satisfying conclusion. Winnie and Jay present white, and Erica is cued Latine.
Combines the best parts of the earlier books with confidence and creativity, sustaining strong momentum throughout. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781250339485
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Although some of Link’s work appears in other YA and adult short-story anthologies, this is her first collection wholly aimed at a young-adult audience. Weirdly wonderful and a touch macabre, the nine short stories take readers into worlds with elements of reality but also supply a fantastic twist. The opening story, “The Wrong Grave,” plays into the current trend of books featuring the dead and the undead; in it, a boy whose girlfriend dies wants to dig her up to retrieve the poems he put in her coffin. “Magic for Beginners” centers on a boy whose closest friendships form around a TV show with a loyal following but no set broadcast time or channel. Erudite, economical word choices give readers a strong sense of setting without drowning them in adjectives. The humor is dry and the characters are easy to relate to, even in alien (literally and figuratively) settings. Fantasy readers used to long, single tomes may hesitate at the short-story format, but once they see these, they will want more. (Fantasy/short stories. 14 & up)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-670-01090-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2008
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