Action-packed at every turn, the story leaves enough unresolved to leave readers hungry for the continuation of the epic...
In this fresh take on the chivalric romance, it’s wee lass Drest who becomes a legend as she journeys across 13th-century Scotland’s remote coastal headlands to rescue her da and brothers, the Mad Wolf and his band, from Faintree Castle.
As a bargaining chip, she brings a kind knight traitorously wounded and left for dead by his own men during the raid that took her family. During her six-day quest, Drest rushes headlong to right wrongs wherever she finds them, acquiring a faithful friend and the aid of a powerful witch, both of whom she saves from savage packs of ignorant townspeople. Drest also earns the respect of her captive. Her feats are marked with colorful insults, bruising fights, crashing swords, and daring escapes. Throughout, Drest is heartened by the imaginary presence of her brothers, whose voices she hears in her head, offering battle tips and a code of conduct. But she also learns hard truths about her family’s exploits which make her doubt them and question who she is at her core. Choosing her own code allows her to correct past mistakes and reveal a larger plot that hints at a sequel. While Drest’s literary antecedents are both many and clear, Magras develops her carefully, her ethical arc emerging naturally and believably. An author’s note orients readers to medieval Scotland and its mores.
Action-packed at every turn, the story leaves enough unresolved to leave readers hungry for the continuation of the epic adventure. (glossary) (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2926-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Kathy Dawson/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride.
Zipping back and forth in time atop outsized robo–bell bottoms, mad inventor Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) legs his way to center stage in this slightly less-labored continuation of episode 9.
The action commences after a rambling recap and a warning not to laugh or smile on pain of being forced to read Sarah Plain and Tall. Pilkey first sends his peevish protagonist back a short while to save the Earth (destroyed in the previous episode), then on to various prehistoric eras in pursuit of George, Harold and the Captain. It’s all pretty much an excuse for many butt jokes, dashes of off-color humor (“Tippy pressed the button on his Freezy-Beam 4000, causing it to rise from the depths of his Robo-Pants”), a lengthy wordless comic and two tussles in “Flip-o-rama.” Still, the chase kicks off an ice age, the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Big Bang (here the Big “Ka-Bloosh!”). It ends with a harrowing glimpse of what George and Harold would become if they decided to go straight. The author also chucks in a poopy-doo-doo song with musical notation (credited to Albert P. Einstein) and plenty of ink-and-wash cartoon illustrations to crank up the ongoing frenzy.
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-17536-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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