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
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
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
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