Opens as a thriller, ends as a fantasy, but it’s unquestionably innovative and entertaining from start to finish.
A young boy and his two friends discover an entirely new and fantastic world when exploring an old house in the neighborhood in Jons’ debut young-adult adventure.
Sam’s been keeping an eye on a nearby house where dark figures sprint from the front door but never seem to enter. When he learns that real estate inspectors found gold hidden in the deceased owner’s home, Sam surmises that he’d spotted thieves searching for the treasure. Hoping that there’s more gold to be found, Sam looks for a way inside, joined by his loyal dog, Jack, and his friend Peter’s sisters, Amelia and Jaime. What they find in the house, however, is a tall, shadowy man in a “funny sort of thin hat.” Zachariel claims that he’s an angel, which is only the beginning of the group’s otherworldly journey. This quirky story is written, as the title suggests, in the style of a young boy. Sam, who fancies himself a detective, meticulously details his attempts to make it inside the house. Each of the numerous trips builds suspense as, for example, Jack sniffs out a hole in the garden or the trio enters a murky room. The developing relationships are first-rate: Jack initially exasperates Sam but eventually earns his respect; and Sam learns to trust the headstrong sisters, despite rating all girls “soft and soppy.” The book’s latter half delves into the supernatural realm of angels, and though knowing Zac’s identity disappointingly lessens the dark house’s spookiness, later scenes still excite as the group battles dangerous evil forces. Jons also drops in a bit of flying, invisibility, and time travel. But it’s Sam’s adolescent mentality that makes the story something special. His frequent SSTs (Sam Smart Tips), for one, offer sound advice but are ever evolving to include angel-related guidance—“There’s nothing wrong with showing you’re hurting. I learnt that later.” He likewise adds illustrations to his notebooks and tapes to the pages copies of his written lists, which are typically random thoughts. The novel only scratches the surface of the angels’ world; the ending teases a sequel.
Opens as a thriller, ends as a fantasy, but it’s unquestionably innovative and entertaining from start to finish.Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2015
ISBN: 978-1482723366
Page Count: 348
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at and references to children’s book titles, this solid, tightly plotted read...
When a lock-in becomes a reality game, 12-year-old Kyle Keeley and his friends use library resources to find their way out of Alexandriaville’s new public library.
The author of numerous mysteries for children and adults turns his hand to a puzzle adventure with great success. Starting with the premise that billionaire game-maker Luigi Lemoncello has donated a fortune to building a library in a town that went without for 12 years, Grabenstein cleverly uses the tools of board and video games—hints and tricks and escape hatches—to enhance this intricate and suspenseful story. Twelve 12-year-old winners of an essay contest get to be the first to see the new facility and, as a bonus, to play his new escape game. Lemoncello’s gratitude to the library of his childhood extends to providing a helpful holographic image of his 1968 librarian, but his modern version also includes changing video screens, touch-screen computers in the reading desks and an Electronic Learning Center as well as floor-to-ceiling bookshelves stretching up three stories. Although the characters, from gamer Kyle to schemer Charles Chiltington, are lightly developed, the benefits of pooling strengths to work together are clear.
Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at and references to children’s book titles, this solid, tightly plotted read is a winner for readers and game-players alike. (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: June 25, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-87089-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
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Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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