Readers will find that this darkly intriguing faery story has an appealingly grounded hero.
Discovering his true identity, a young grave robber uses his particular skills to help faeries trapped in Victorian London.
Thomas spends nights assisting his father, Silas, who steals valuables from graves. On the eve of his 12th birthday, Thomas finds a corpse that looks exactly like him in a fresh grave with a paper saying: “My name is Thistle.” After Silas confesses he found Thomas curled up on a grave as a baby, Thomas encounters Deadnettle, a “bizarre, frail faery,” who has been waiting to tell him about his real mother, Wintercress, the faery queen. Thirteen years before, an evil spiritualist, Mordecai, lured the faeries to London, forcing them to communicate with dead spirits in his séances. Barred from returning to the faery realm, the faeries are slowly dying. Wintercress’ other son, Thistle, died trying to open the gateway. Last of the royal line, Thomas remains their only hope to escape. “Not a faery and not a human,” Thomas valiantly rallies to outwit Mordecai. Deliberate pacing takes readers back and forth between Thomas, as his awareness emerges, and Deadnettle, as he waits doubtfully. The spiritualist element and the graveyard settings conjure a macabre atmosphere for this unusual tale of unexpected origins and extraordinary loyalties.
Readers will find that this darkly intriguing faery story has an appealingly grounded hero. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: July 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4424-9882-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magic-filled treat.
A young witch needs to break a curse—or it will bring about her family’s demise.
There’s a rule that no more than three Goode witches can be in the town of Cranberry Hollow at a time without unleashing a curse. It has been 5 years since 12-year-old Adelaide Goode, a curvy, White, redheaded witch, and her mom have visited her mother’s hometown—where her estranged maternal aunt also lives. Feeling her mom is abandoning her at her grandmother’s house to go on a monthslong work trip, Addie does something that accidentally unleashes the curse, turning Addie’s bones to glass, awakening a witch hunter, and forcing her mom to stay. Set during Cranberry Hollow’s annual Halloween festival, the book follows Addie and new friend Fatima, a Pakistani American hijabi girl with a love of all things relating to monsters and the macabre, as they work together to try to reverse the spell. Featuring fast-paced action and high stakes, this novel also touches on Addie’s internal struggle as she strives to embrace her fat mother’s body positivity in a way that feels authentic to her age. Fatima is a crucial problem-solver for Addie, and though the friendship between the girls forms quickly, Fatima is bubbly and smart with her own goals and dreams, and she gets to be more than just a sidekick. The worldbuilding can be a bit rushed at times, but overall this is an enjoyable festive, autumnal adventure.
A magic-filled treat. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-80342-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Nonstop, action-packed, episodic exploits against the voracious undead.
Resourceful kids battle hordes of the walking dead.
Residents of several Northern California counties are being advised to evacuate and “flee to safety” in the wake of a zombie epidemic. Lucy Santifer and her family just make it to their car when they are attacked and killed. Nearby, Lucy’s best friend, 12-year-old Joule Artis, climbs into her treehouse, the better to seek her missing father. Elsewhere, 11-year-old Oliver Wachs is holed up in the Redwood Zombie Brigade Headquarters, stocked with weaponry and populated by dedicated zombiefighters. And Regina, 12, is haunted by her narrow zombie escapes even as her mother, Dr. Celeste Herrera, unveils Project Coloma, an ingenious system that uses a zombie treadmill situated in an abandoned gold mine to create much-needed energy for the region. Weinberger’s monster thriller is long on suspense, with several close calls but no graphic violence. The action pings briskly among the three young protagonists, and the punchy prose is suitably pitched to a preteen readership. The plot thickens with the forecast of a Rogue Wave of zombies headed to town. The trio eventually joins forces, promising further fights for freedom. If this horror thrill ride makes readers want to join the zombiefighters, note that there is a video game tie-in. Play at your own risk. Oliver reads white, Regina is cued Latina, and Joule is minimally described and racially ambiguous.
Nonstop, action-packed, episodic exploits against the voracious undead. (link to play the online game) (Adventure. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781338881714
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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