Despite thin spots, Burack’s story moves at an engaging clip with enough thrills and historical detail to please many...
A Scottish lad flees his home in pursuit of treasure that promises to relieve his family’s penury forever.
Almost 14, Christopher Robertson lives in dire poverty with his family on the Shetland Islands in 1842, in debt like everyone else to the landowner, a smuggler. When Christopher’s brother seemingly betrays him by framing him for a crime, Christopher embarks on a journey that first lands him in prison and then eventually leads him to America on a treasure hunt. The danger-filled adventure plot allows Burack plenty of room to elaborate on the setting, politics, and social conditions of this particular bit of “Old Country”–immigrant history. Readers may sense that Burack is ultimately more interested in that history than the story itself, as some side characters are shirked and the plot swerves and hiccups (for instance, the passage from Scotland to New York is never remarked upon). The light spattering of Scottish brogue is also, at times, awkward. Still, Christopher’s escaped-felon partner is memorable, and his encounters with an up-and-coming future Boss Tweed tantalize. An appendix fleshes out historical details, and a closing bibliography provides authority.
Despite thin spots, Burack’s story moves at an engaging clip with enough thrills and historical detail to please many readers. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1369-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride.
Zipping back and forth in time atop outsized robo–bell bottoms, mad inventor Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) legs his way to center stage in this slightly less-labored continuation of episode 9.
The action commences after a rambling recap and a warning not to laugh or smile on pain of being forced to read Sarah Plain and Tall. Pilkey first sends his peevish protagonist back a short while to save the Earth (destroyed in the previous episode), then on to various prehistoric eras in pursuit of George, Harold and the Captain. It’s all pretty much an excuse for many butt jokes, dashes of off-color humor (“Tippy pressed the button on his Freezy-Beam 4000, causing it to rise from the depths of his Robo-Pants”), a lengthy wordless comic and two tussles in “Flip-o-rama.” Still, the chase kicks off an ice age, the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Big Bang (here the Big “Ka-Bloosh!”). It ends with a harrowing glimpse of what George and Harold would become if they decided to go straight. The author also chucks in a poopy-doo-doo song with musical notation (credited to Albert P. Einstein) and plenty of ink-and-wash cartoon illustrations to crank up the ongoing frenzy.
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-17536-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
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A pitch-perfect middle-grade novel that insightfully explores timely topics with authenticity and warmth.
A nuanced novel about a neurodiverse preteen’s political and social awakening by a Pura Belpré Honor–winning author.
Sixth grader Emilia Rosa Torres sometimes has a hard time keeping up with schoolwork and concentrating on one thing at a time, but her software-developer mother and superinvolved abuelita help her keep on task. Days before her father’s return to their Atlanta suburb from his most recent deployment, her mother goes on a business trip, leaving the middle schooler to juggle his mood swings, her friend troubles, and her looming assignments all on her own. When a social studies project opens her eyes to injustices past and present, Emilia begins to find her voice and use it to make an impact on her community. Writing with sensitivity and respectful complexity, Cartaya tackles weighty issues, such as immigration, PTSD, and microaggressions, through the lens of a budding tinkerer and activist who has ADHD. The members of this Cuban American family don’t all practice the same religion, with Emilia’s Catholic grandmother faithfully attending Mass multiple times a week and the protagonist’s mother celebrating her culture’s Yoruba roots with Santería. Conversations on race and gender crop up through the narrative as Emilia’s grandmother likes to emphasize her family’s European heritage—Emilia can pass as white, with her fair complexion, light eyes and auburn hair. All of these larger issues are effortlessly woven in with skill and humor, as is the Spanish her family easily mixes with English.
A pitch-perfect middle-grade novel that insightfully explores timely topics with authenticity and warmth. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-451-47972-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
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