Cop-dog comic YA novel-fantasy doesn’t lead the pack but still may collar a following among adolescent readers.
Tough Seattle cop Lt. Spencer Watley, killed in the line of duty, is reincarnated in the body of his former police dog to redeem himself not only by nabbing the cyber-crooks responsible, but also by helping a troubled teenager face physical and emotional challenges.
This clash of genres hearkens back in many ways to Disney live-action feature comedies (and the books that inspired them) from the 1950s to the 70s. A childish retro-spirit prevails despite the modern—yet still somewhat dated—milieu of a cyberpunk-esque Seattle populated with lethal computer-hacker gangs and software/hardware pirates. Justin Andrews is a tech-savvy teenage rebel, alienated from his workaholic father, frequently in trouble at Catholic school and lonely after the death of his mother. Lt. Spencer Watley is a tough cop on the scent of a grotesque criminal dynasty named Dreck; Cruella De Vil-style Drusilla Dreck runs a robotics-oriented toy company but really schemes a vast identity-theft heist using a hot new cybernetic plaything named Robo Pooch that has been secretly upgraded with a snoopy spy chip. Watley is killed during a police pursuit—an accident that also puts bystander Justin in leg braces. But an angel in heaven grants Spencer a second chance in God’s “Jerk Redemption Program,” bringing the lawman back to Earth in the body of a purebred briard police dog (that has swallowed the Drecks’ precious spy chip) so that he can befriend Justin and battle the villains. The latter antics are so slapsticky that one expects chirpy birds and twinkling stars around the heads of the detestable Drecks and their henchmen after each gets conked in the many fight scenes. The narrative also overplays its “dead parent” hand, with fully three deceased moms and dads (and that’s just the human ones) causing lingering trauma to their bereaved offspring. Still, there are some intriguing third-act twists, and it’s possible that tween readers who find the more realistic Puppy Place and Pet Vets series too sedate will be amused by the rambunctious spirit and lively pacing. Readers and pet owners of any age should know that dog-Spencer’s habit of drinking coffee is not a canine treat recommended by veterinarians.
Cop-dog comic YA novel-fantasy doesn’t lead the pack but still may collar a following among adolescent readers.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 227
Publisher: Book Baby
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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