Unsuccessful; readers may be more pleased with Charles Gilman’s Lovecraft Middle School series for sci-fi fun or The...
Four motherless siblings embark on an adventure that leads them through the memories—and nightmares—of the past.
The Rothbaum siblings—Janice, Zack, Sydney, and Alexa, all white—are having one of the worst days of their young lives. Their father has been badly burned in a fire and is in a coma, leaving the foursome to be raised by their peculiar aunt. Living with Aunt Gladys means following her unusual rules, the most important of which is to not touch the doors. This rule itself seems odd, as the rooms of Gladys’ house have archways, not doors. Equally strange is that although the rooms have no doors to close, several are filled with unattached doors in arbitrary piles. The children soon learn of the connection between doors and the memories of the people who use them, setting them on the path to unlock the mysteries of their father’s accident and their mother’s disappearance. Neilsen’s premise is better than its execution. The Rothbaum siblings’ character development is superficial, and their voices frequently run together with little distinction for individual personality. Neilsen haphazardly interjects broad humor through the story, primarily through unusually named one-dimensional adult characters. A subplot concerning the foster system is misleading and outdated, causing the humor to fall flat.
Unsuccessful; readers may be more pleased with Charles Gilman’s Lovecraft Middle School series for sci-fi fun or The Mysterious Benedict Society or A Series of Unfortunate Events for mystery and humor. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93582-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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