An uneven time-travel romp with a patriotic punch.
Thirteen-year-old Kep Westguard is a time-traveling teen in this first installment of Schnabel’s middle-grade SF series.
It’s 1777 in Saratoga in the colony of New York, and the Revolutionary War is raging. Kep is one of a few young teens sent back in time by the KRONOS company to keep modern-day America safe. His great-aunt Annie leads the mission at KRONOS and warns Kep that he can’t take for granted the many rights he enjoys in the 21st century. Her brother-in-law, Fox, who has a vendetta against the United States government for confiscating his family’s estate, already journeyed into the past to wreak havoc, and Kep is sent back to thwart any threats to the success of the Revolution. However, he’s not allowed to take any modern-day weapons or technologies with him. Along the way, he encounters the formerly enslaved Banneker, Mary, and Finn McGee as well as the German Baroness Von Riedesel. This first installment in Schnabel’s series is a page-turner that young history buffs will enjoy. Kep is relatable and fun to travel alongside, as there’s an effortless ease to his manner. The book ably intersperses real-life historical events and people, such as the baroness, without slowing the pace. That said, there are places in the book where the dialogue feels a bit out of step. Since Kep has time traveled before, and the KRONOS company is well versed in the past, one would assume that they would have trained him well on blending in; instead, Kep’s speech is sometimes distractingly modern but only rarely questioned, as when he says “wow, that was a shocker.” In addition, the time-travel technology is only sketchily explained.
An uneven time-travel romp with a patriotic punch.Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 214
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic.
A loyal black kitten’s boy is under supernatural attack.
Eleven-month-old Nimbus loves Fletcher, the boy who nursed her back to health following life-threatening injuries. When Fletcher becomes curious about a strange jar and opens it, releasing a terrible goblin, loyal Nim protects Fletcher, taking heavy damage in the process. But Fletcher’s aunt, who’s caring for him over spring break, believes Nim attacked Fletcher and dumps her far from home. Rhett, a stylish rat with star quality, befriends injured Nim and leads her to a witch’s house. While the witch cares for Nim, the witch’s cats (maternal Fern, bookish Rochester, standoffish Bianca, and openly hostile Abraxas) teach Nim important cat skills. She also discovers she has a supernatural ability: In destroying one eye of the nightmare demon in the fight to protect Fletcher, Nim gained its “dream sight.” But she also learns it might come back for Fletcher, who no longer has Nim to protect him, posing a time-sensitive, high-stakes threat. Even though the witch’s home is nice and magic itself seems to be telling her to stay put, Nim wants to find a way back to Fletcher. As a hero, Nimbus is as gritty and determined as she is adorable. Tear-jerker moments explore pet abandonment—readers may want their own pets on hand to hug—all the way through the magical, action-packed finale. Fletcher and the witch read white.
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780062680372
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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