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THE WHISPER

Name: THE WHISPER
Author: Emma Clayton
ISBN: 978-0-545-31772-6

by Emma Clayton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2012

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This sequel to The Roar (2009) finds twins Mika and Ellie and the other mutant children using their maturing superpower talents.

In a knockout science-fiction thriller, they attack the Wall that divides the poor multitudes in the North from the relatively few rich in the South. Mika explains at one point: "We hear things you can't hear… we call them The Roar and The Whisper. The Roar is the sound of emotion and The Whisper is the sound of thought." Set in the not-so-far future in the British Isles and picking up right after the finale of The Roar, this story demonstrates thought turned into action. It extends readers' comprehension of the twins' world, providing knowledge of the characters and their superpowers, revelations about the origin of the Wall and details of the landscape of the South in greater depth than in the first book. The third-person narration alternates among the viewpoints of Ellie, Mika and Mika's friend, Kobi, adding interest and suspense, while the well-developed plot, lots of new and creepy monsters and tightly maintained tension keep readers entertained. Heavy themes of economic marginalization are leavened by gadgetry and action. Mixing science-fiction ideas with the tension of a thriller guarantees reader approval. (Science fiction. 10-13)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-545-31772-6

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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UNHOOKING THE MOON

by Gregory Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2013

Rousing adventures on the not-so-mean streets, with heart aplenty.

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Two Canadian children take on the Big Apple in this deliciously unlikely, unbridled romp.

Astonished to hear that their father had a drug-dealing brother in New York, newly orphaned Bob and his live-wire little sister, Marie Claire (aka Rat), hitchhike to the city from Winnipeg. For lack of a better plan, they wander Manhattan and the Bronx asking passersby if they know him. This strategy leads to encounters with a host of colorful city types, notably a pair of softhearted con men and a lonely rising rap star, plus plenty of terrific street theater and nights spent sleeping in, alternately, Central Park and a hyperluxurious apartment. And ultimately the children’s search is successful! Their information about Uncle Jerome is even (more or less) accurate, as he turns out to be the CEO of a huge pharmaceutical company. Though many of Hughes’ characters will sink emotional hooks into readers, Rat takes and earns center stage by glibly charming the pants off every adult, showing a winning mix of quick wits and vulnerability, and taking wild flights of imagination—her explanation of the (subtle) differences between a Windigo and a pedophile being a particular highlight. So appealing are they that when one of them suffers a tremendous blow, readers will feel it as intensely as the other characters. The dizzying highs intensify but also ameliorate that devastating low.

Rousing adventures on the not-so-mean streets, with heart aplenty. (Fiction. 11-13)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-62365-020-9

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Mobius

Review Posted Online: April 22, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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WORSE THINGS HAPPEN AT SEA!

A TALE OF PIRATES, POISON, AND MONSTERS

by Alan Snow ; illustrated by Alan Snow ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 9, 2013

There’s foolery aplenty, but this is the sort of sequel that offers more of the same rather than any new twists or...

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More cheese-centric shenanigans take the multispecies cast of Here Be Monsters (2006) far from the town of Ratbridge.

Faced with a heavy fine for drying their customers’ knickers in public, the rat and ex-pirate crew of the Ratbridge Nautical Laundry reluctantly set out for Black Cabbage Island in the South Pacific to fetch the active ingredient of a popular nostrum called Black Jollop. The revelation that Black Jollop infects all who take it with insatiable “cheese lust”—thus casting Ratbridge’s population of meek, ambulatory cheeses into mortal danger—turns the voyage into a race against time to bring back the cure. Snow trots in challenges ranging from the previous episode’s archvillain Archibald Snatcher and other members of the discredited Ratbridge Cheese Guild to attacks from a rushing horde of “shopping birds.” He intersperses his narrative with so many flashbacks, news reports, farcical set pieces (often involving various sorts of glop), small ink drawings, and larger diagrams or maps that the mission takes on a rambling pace.

There’s foolery aplenty, but this is the sort of sequel that offers more of the same rather than any new twists or developments. (partial cast list) (Fantasy. 11-13)