Wonderfully entertaining.
What happens to the imaginary friends we make when we are so little we can’t remember them later on?
Amanda’s friend Rudger simply appears one day in Amanda’s wardrobe and becomes her constant companion—and hers alone. He finds that sharing in Amanda’s rich and adventurous imagination has its rewards but some significant dangers and challenges. There’s the creepy Mr. Bunting, an ancient man in Hawaiian-print shirt and shorts who, it turns out, stays alive by devouring children’s imaginary friends. There’s the possibility of being forgotten, when age or injury—or death?—causes the bond to weaken. When Amanda is hit by a car, Rudger is able to take refuge in a library, the one place apart from children’s company where sufficient imagination dwells to keep imaginary companions from fading. Rudger’s attempts to connect with a boy too young to enjoy his unexpected appearance and to one of Amanda’s less versatile friends are ill-starred. A harrowing hospital scene is satisfyingly gruesome though not disastrous. Harrold offers an appealingly childcentric world with hefty doses of scare and malevolence to explore the possibilities of imaginary beings with feelings of their own. Gravett’s several double-page, full-color illustrations, along with lively margin drawings, sweetly blend the real with the imaginary, giving Amanda and Rudger appealing personality—and deliver chills in the form of Mr. Bunting and his own dreadfully spooky imaginary companion.
Wonderfully entertaining. (Fantasy. 9-13)Pub Date: March 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8027-3811-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A believable heroine finds her strength during a disaster.
A simple afternoon of babysitting turns into a battle for survival.
Hannah Steele, 13, is babysitting for only the second time, which makes her a little nervous, especially when she realizes she’s forgotten her rescue inhaler. But she’s just going to be watching Zoe and Oscar Matlock, who live next door—so what’s there to be nervous about? After all, they live on peaceful (and fictional) Pelling Island, a half hour from Seattle—a place Hannah considers utopic, where “nothing really bad ever happens.” But then a powerful earthquake strikes the Pacific Northwest. There’s no power, no phones, no internet, and no parents, leaving Hannah entirely on her own. Over three thrilling, tension-filled days, Hannah must cope with serious injuries to both Zoe and Oscar as well as little food and water. Moreover, damage to the Matlock house means it’s unsafe to stay there. There’s a close call with a bear, the stress and exhaustion give her asthma attacks, and Hannah’s not sure what to do. Earnest Hannah narrates in a credibly 13-year-old voice, her friendship woes giving her an Everykid feel even as disaster-related action keeps pages flipping. Names suggest some diversity in the community, but Hannah, Zoe, and Oscar present white.
A believable heroine finds her strength during a disaster. (Thriller. 9-13)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-7331-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Emotional depth and nuanced representation level up this action-packed, futuristic page-turner.
A hardworking prodigy takes the gaming world by storm, one epic battle at a time.
Mysterious new gamer TheRuiNar is turning heads in the 2067 Junior Dayhold Tournament. Looking at TheRuiNar’s teenage male avatar, no one would ever guess that the person behind this virtual reality star is Reyna Cheng, a 12-year-old who got a scholarship to attend the prestigious Dayhold Academy’s summer camp. Winning the tournament can rocket young players to e-sports stardom, but for Reyna the stakes are even higher. If she’s eliminated, she’s promised her struggling immigrant parents that she’ll give up her dreams of gaming forever. Winning the prize money would not only prove she has what it takes to be a pro gamer, it would also pay for her mother’s cancer treatments. Does Reyna have the physical, mental, and emotional endurance to keep her identity a secret and become the next champion? Gripping game play as well as cliffhanger chapter endings make for an adrenaline-filled reading experience. Reyna is an ambitious, emotionally vulnerable narrator who games to escape the hardships of the real world while also acknowledging and fighting back against race and gender discrimination in the White, male-dominated tech world. Reyna’s Chinese American cultural heritage is rich and nuanced, from her complicated, realistic relationship with her parents to her K-Pop–blasting pre-gaming ritual. Reyna’s friends are racially diverse.
Emotional depth and nuanced representation level up this action-packed, futuristic page-turner. (Science fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-74150-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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