Humor, chills, and real-life challenges combine in this enjoyable, action-packed fantasy.
In this middle-grade novel, a boy makes the momentous discovery that gargoyle hunting is his destiny.
Twelve-year-old Milo Savage’s field trip to a local museum outside of New York City turns into a “super really bad day” when a statue comes to life, tries to tell Milo about a secret, and gets attacked by a monstrous tentacle that appears out of a red mist. Milo’s rescue attempt fails, the tentacle disappears, and all his teacher and classmates see is an inert, damaged stone statue. Milo’s reputation for getting in trouble doesn’t help when he tries to explain. His mom sends him to live with his mysterious Uncle Horace in the Catskill Mountains, not as punishment but as the man’s apprentice. Milo’s experience in the museum and another red mist monster attack prove that it’s time he takes up the family business as a gargoyle hunter. Quinton’s lively, fantastical worldbuilding has a deft twist: Most of the stone monsters, influenced by a magic Moonstone, are protectors of humankind. But Horace, the “Keeper of the Moonstone,” has disappeared, and evil gargoyles are after the object for nefarious purposes. Milo gets information and protective talismans from a comically cranky garden gnome named Grimlo and help from a benevolent talking sheepdog named Gerty. Can Milo and his own Savage Clan of gargoyle-hunting friends—tough, athletic Kat Black; uncoordinated brainiac Sammy Ballerini; and science-minded researcher Suzy Chang—find Horace in the gargoyle realm before the entire human race is in jeopardy? Quinton is the prolific author of a supernatural and techno-thriller series for adult and teen readers. In this first installment of a fantasy series, the author presents a diverse cast. Quinton seamlessly weaves such tween concerns and issues as learning disabilities (Milo), bullying (Sammy), and developmental and physical differences (a gate guardian appears to have Down syndrome characteristics; Milo and Sammy make involuntary gestures) into the story. The result is a nonstop, scary, and fun adventure.
Humor, chills, and real-life challenges combine in this enjoyable, action-packed fantasy.Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-1736659083
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Contagiously goofy and fun.
Area 51 gets its first new resident in 5 years—and a new mystery.
When her grandma moves into a kid-free retirement home, 12-year-old orphan Priya “Sky” Patel-Baum and Spike, her pet hedgehog, relocate to Area 51 to live with Sky’s eccentric Uncle Anish. At 51, humans and Break Throughs (government-speak for aliens) live together off-grid in harmony. Unfortunately, several Zdstrammars (one of many Break Through species) mysteriously disappear, disrupting the base’s harmony and contributing to feelings of suspicion. Despite being deputy head of the Federal Bureau of Alien Investigations, Uncle Anish becomes a prime suspect. Can Sky and Elvis, her alien classmate, prove Uncle Anish’s innocence and find the missing Zdstrammars before it’s too late? YA author Buxbaum’s middle-grade debut is a rip-roaring series opener complete with over-the-top characters and jokes galore. Naidu’s black-and-white cartoon illustrations extend the comedy with ongoing commentary that smartly interacts with the prose. The cast of Break Through species—like Audiotooters, Galzorian, and Sanitizoria—have hilariously creative on-the-nose names with illustrations to match. Sky is coded biracial, with a White dad and Indian mom. Aliens appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors; Elvis shape-shifts but looks like a brown-skinned boy to Sky. Though the main mystery is neatly wrapped up, the cliffhanger ending promises more laughs.
Contagiously goofy and fun. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-42946-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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