Brimming with adventure, tenacity, and magic.
An orphan is chosen for an intergalactic mission beyond his wildest dreams.
Zero Adedji always dreamed of becoming a Saba, or licensed adventurer who harnesses Koba magic using Kobastickers. Zero lives alone in Cégolim, the City of Children, helping stranded travelers through his company, Zero Worries. When he touches a mysterious object one day, it turns out to be the sought-after Jupiter Kobasticker—and it chooses him to possess it. When bounty hunters try to kill him to get it, he’s saved by members of the Shango Heart Guild and invited to join them. Zero works hard to master the Jupiter, which is rumored to grant immortality to every 13th user—and he’s the 25th. Zoe Sitso, Zero’s mentor, asks him, along with guild members Camih and Ladi Hyung, to retrieve the Mask of the Shaman King so its rightful owner can destroy it. The mask grants wishes—but at a steep price, and it could release powerful villain Zomon the Dark King from the Oblong Dimension. The trio fights alongside unlikely allies to retrieve it. Unfortunately, the Space Mafia, who wouldn’t flinch at sacrificing others for their own gain, are also out to possess the mask. Togolese debut author Adodo’s debut bursts forth with wonderful worldbuilding drawing from African mythology and culture. Nail-biting scenes are balanced by comedic moments. In a fantasy-diverse galaxy, Zero and Camih read Black; their relationship is founded on respect, avoiding common sexist tropes.
Brimming with adventure, tenacity, and magic. (character sketches) (Science fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-324-03077-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
A quirky sci-fi adventure with a surprising layer of political irony.
Who knew the survival of the human race would depend on fitting in at school?
With Earth destroyed, humans have successfully petitioned Planet Choom to take them in as refugees. Narrator Lan Mifune and their family (Lan is never gendered in the text) travel there, arriving to a surprise. During the 20-year journey in bio-suspension asleep, Choom’s government has changed, along with their acceptance of humans, and they are asked to leave immediately. With no other alternative, Lan’s mom, Amora Persaud, who’s on the ship’s Governing Council, is able to negotiate a trial run, in which the Mifune family will prove humans can peacefully assimilate. Being the new kid at school is tough anywhere, but on Choom, Lan must navigate the cultures of the werewolflike Kriks; Ororos, who resemble giant marshmallows; and the Zhuri, who resemble giant mosquitoes and express emotions by secreting specific scents. Things get complicated when the Zhuri government executes a smear campaign against humans even as some privately believe humans can be peaceful if given the chance. It’s up to Lan and their family to prove humans can contribute to society. Rodkey deftly mirrors recent debates about refugees and immigrants, twisting them into a black comedy–sci-fi mashup. Racial and ethnic diversity is purposely shown solely through names, hinting via surname that Lan’s family shares mixed Japanese and Indian heritage. The abrupt resolution might leave some in disbelief, but that’s a small price to pay.
A quirky sci-fi adventure with a surprising layer of political irony. (Science fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-7304-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
BOOK TO SCREEN
More knightly shenanigans, tongue deeply in cheek.
Knights-in-training Tim and Belinda undertake a terrifying sea voyage to fetch a golden fleece and a few other treasures.
Mostly what’s terrifying is that they have Sir Fass, Sir Render, and the rest of the Kingdom of Merryland’s inept, aptly named, and, as it turns out, treacherous Knight Brigade as shipmates…though surviving such nautical hazards as sirens, not to mention Scylla and Charybdis, are (not unlike a monstrous bargleboar, whose allergy to paprika leaves everyone covered in snot) nothing to sneeze at. Cribbing blithely from ancient sources but working in some inventive twists of his own—the song of the sirens, for instance, is so awful that rather than luring sailors to their deaths, it results in them wrecking their ships to avoid hearing it—Gibbs steers his young adventurers from one near disaster to the next before doing readers the disservice of leaving the pair hurtling toward certain death on the last page. As in previous outings, Curtis adds comical line drawings of knights in armor grimacing or looking confused to nearly every spread, and the author pauses the action periodically to define relevant vocabulary building words like overcompensating, nauseous, and (irritatingly) cliffhanger. Most of the cast presents White in the interior art, though Belinda appears to be Black.
More knightly shenanigans, tongue deeply in cheek. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: May 9, 2023
ISBN: 9781665917445
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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