Even though—in the book’s one predictable touch—Rocco gives up being a liar and a criminal, he’s reliably entertaining till...
Italian immigrant and new New Yorker Rocco Zaccaro is not an unreliable narrator.
Any time Rocco tells a lie or betrays someone who trusts him, he tells readers in advance exactly what he’s going to do. In the very first chapter, he introduces himself as “Rocco Zaccaro, pickpocket, liar extraordinaire, and escaped convict, among other things.” The old-fashioned, picaresque chapter headings are wonderfully informative. The caption for Chapter 4 is: “Containing a grave and shocking event that may disturb some readers.” (The book is set in the late 1880s, and the headings feel both historical and meta.) The chapter includes a scary scene involving a knife, but the book has almost no big surprise plot twists. Rocco announces them all ahead of time. He sums up most of the story in his self-introduction. And yet, Hopkinson’s writing is so inventive that it’s almost impossible to guess what will happen next. Every scene contains a little surprise. Rocco may be a liar and a criminal, but, like the best unreliable narrators from other books, he’s endlessly funny and clever.
Even though—in the book’s one predictable touch—Rocco gives up being a liar and a criminal, he’s reliably entertaining till the end of the story. (map, historical notes, bibliography, pickpocket’s glossary) (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-385-75499-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The whimsy is slight—the story is not—and both its interest and its vocabulary are for the youngest members of this age...
Beverly Cleary has written all kinds of books (the most successful ones about the irrepressible Henry Huggins) but this is her first fantasy.
Actually it's plain clothes fantasy grounded in the everyday—except for the original conceit of a mouse who can talk and ride a motorcycle. A toy motorcycle, which belongs to Keith, a youngster, who comes to the hotel where Ralph lives with his family; Ralph and Keith become friends, Keith gives him a peanut butter sandwich, but finally Ralph loses the motorcycle—it goes out with the dirty linen. Both feel dreadfully; it was their favorite toy; but after Keith gets sick, and Ralph manages to find an aspirin for him in a nearby room, and the motorcycle is returned, it is left with Ralph....
The whimsy is slight—the story is not—and both its interest and its vocabulary are for the youngest members of this age group. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 1965
ISBN: 0380709244
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1965
BOOK TO SCREEN
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