An empathetic story told in a fun, lighthearted way.
An abused dog with attitude problems finds a home in this middle-grade novel.
Webster, aka “Beast,” a black Lab mix, has led a lonely and tumultuous life. After three unsuccessful adoptions, he winds up at the Green Meadows Rescue Group. Unwilling to trust anyone, Webster hunkers down in his kennel and plans his escape. White’s too-cool-for-school third-person narrative voice captures Webster’s lonely-but-tough-guy attitude, although its predominance occasionally wears. The friendliness of the shelter cats and dogs throws a wrench in Webster’s plan to be a Bad Hat—a loner and ne’er-do-well—but he keeps up (with difficulty) his defenses, and when the opportunity arises, he escapes—although with misgivings. His adventures are not what he planned, however. Instead of wreaking havoc in high, Bad Hat style, Webster finds himself rescuing a drowning man, saving a toddler from getting run over, and shepherding six abandoned kittens to the safety of the shelter. Eventually, Webster learns to trust again as he realizes that the shelter is filled with friends who care about him. While it’s a familiar-enough theme, the storyline is enhanced by White’s quirky details (the cats and dogs at the shelter steal out of their kennels at night and watch Downton Abbey together on PBS), and there is some truly funny dialogue between the animals.
An empathetic story told in a fun, lighthearted way. (Fiction. 8-14)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2201-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series.
An orphaned street urchin is recruited into an elite school for thieves.
In an alternate world where France is the dominant world power, 13-year-old Tom Morgan has had to scrimp, starve, and steal on the streets of London to survive. Born into a workhouse, he doesn’t know anything about his father, while his mother may have been from North Africa. One thing he does know is the sort of cruelty that awaits the poor who are sent to the workhouse, and he’s determined not to go back. But when their camp is raided and his friends are captured by workhouse agents, the only thing Tom can think of is how to get them out. Enter the Corsair, a cunning and mysterious man with a proposition: He wants to recruit Tom into Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts. From nabbing treasures to forging identity papers, Beaufort’s promises to teach Tom everything he needs to know to become a Shadow Thief and a member of the Shadow League, the secret global organization that helps keep the world’s political power in balance. But Beaufort’s has its own rules and secrets, and if Tom is to survive long enough to help his friends, he’ll need to figure them out quickly. Clever and gripping, this fast-paced boarding school story will appeal to fans of the Mysterious Benedict Society and Spy School series.
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series. (Adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781665982283
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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