A suspenseful tour for nature-loving middle graders.
A trip to the Galápagos can be the adventure of a lifetime, but for Ezzy Skylar, it provides more adventure than she would ever want.
The Galápagos were at the top of Ezzy’s deceased, adventuresome mother’s to-visit list, and Ezzy, her father, and her little brother have embarked on a weeklong cruise in her memory. Luke loves animals, but Ezzy’s frankly afraid of anything wild, and in the Galápagos, the fearless wildlife are everywhere. Marine scientist Prager (The Shark Whisperer, 2014, etc.) knows these Ecuadorian islands well; she introduces many of their most interesting creatures while showing readers Ezzy’s discomfort. On their second full day out, animals become the least of her fears when smugglers hijack their ship. Their leader has big plans: He’s been capturing the unsuspecting animals for a Galápagos theme park and some genetic manipulation. Ezzy’s father, suspicious that the hijackers do not intend to let the paying passengers survive, sends his children off for a third day of island hikes with instructions not to return. Against all regulations, they and new friend Aiden scramble through Isabela Island’s overgrown interior and past an exploding volcano to find help. There’s little character development but plentiful adventure. The premise and setting of this series opener are convincing, almost making up for a too-convenient resolution. Ezzy, her family, Aiden, and the bad guys all seem to present white; the support staff is Ecuadorian.
A suspenseful tour for nature-loving middle graders. (author’s note, acknowledgments, illustrations not seen) (Adventure. 9-13)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-943431-55-7
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Tumblehome Learning
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Ponderous and protracted, with more work needed on both the world and the characters.
Two young teens with special powers face an ancient evil rising from the very heart of the Tinvali Empire in this doorstopping series opener.
Pursued by ruthless agents eager to exploit her mysterious ability to read peoples’ true feelings, Arden—eventually, after many chapters alternating between dual narrators—links up with foundling Mako, a budding music mage who’s carefully hiding the fact that he’s invited an invisible smooth-talking trickster spirit named Narrix to be his lifelong guardian. It seems that some of Narrix’s fellow spirits may be even nastier—and there are ominous hints that they might be sneaking back into the world. Several of Arden’s adventures do more to bulk up the page count than advance the plot in any meaningful way, and though (like many of Mull’s protagonists) she’s a dab hand at snarky banter, she otherwise comes off as a rather wooden character. Readers may find Mako’s journey and conflicts more absorbing, as he struggles to balance the joy of blossoming into an outstanding warrior under Narrix’s tutelage with the sneaking suspicion he’s made a bad choice of tutor. Whether his concerns are valid or not remains to be seen. The leads present white.
Ponderous and protracted, with more work needed on both the world and the characters. (Fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: April 14, 2026
ISBN: 9780593712047
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
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