Vibrant characters and prose energize this literary adventure.
A 12-year-old boy tries to save a world made of words in this middle-grade fantasy novel.
British-Iraqi Ankido Gulzar is saddened by the news his archaeologist father has disappeared in Iraq. Unfortunately, Habubti, Ankido’s beloved grandmother, is leaving him behind as she searches for his father. An acclaimed fantasy novelist, Habubti asks her grandson to care for her latest, unfinished book, cryptically specifying to keep it out of the hands of Aunt Geraldine. In Habubti’s absence, Geraldine makes a grab for the Gulzar estate by sending Ankido, the heir, to a boarding school. On the way, the boy loses consciousness, awakens, and soon finds himself in a “crossroads between worlds.” He meets Zinaida, a wanderer, who tells Ankido that “the Land of Mesopo”—the title of Habubti’s book—is dying. Mesopo is made of words and a thief, Humbaba, is gradually stealing all of them. Evidently, the Book (Habubti’s) has chosen Ankido as the new Tale Smith; indeed, the boy lately has been dreaming of entirely new words. With an ability to create worlds with invented words, Ankido may be able to rescue Mesopo, as its many books are “the pillars of mankind’s literacy.” Ankido is a well-rounded protagonist, wielding words as a weapon but also struggling to overcome sporadic fits of anger. Dynamic characters fill the pages, from creepy, fishlike River People (Humbaba’s bondsmen) to Geraldine’s winsome stepdaughters, Leila and Salma, who find their own way to Mesopo to help their cousin Ankido. Dietrich (The Great Rainbow Hug, 2011) masterfully visualizes the fantastic world: Recurring blots or pools of black ink signify Mesopo’s slowly diminishing word count. Kallick’s (Sophie’s Quest, 2018) complementary artwork is colorful and detailed, though, disappointingly, there are only two of her dual-page illustrations. The engaging tale is a quick read for young readers and adults. And while it seems the author is priming it for a series, this book can act as a stand-alone.
Vibrant characters and prose energize this literary adventure.Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-73151-821-7
Page Count: 333
Publisher: Sable Tyger Books
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.
Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992—not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable—in other words, a bag of wind.
The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: "to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation." So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, "Listen to your heart" A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver ("concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man"). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits—a far cry from Saint- Exupery's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility.
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-250217-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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