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OLIVER MARIS

An engaging, challenging, and thoughtfully balanced adventure.

Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
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This middle-grade novel stars a shy boy who escapes into a fantasy to cope with bullies and his mother’s illness.

To pass the sixth grade, Oliver Maris must earn extra credit. His teacher, Ms. Nordfane, allows him to perform in the upcoming school production of Adam and the Whale as one of the jellyfish. This nonspeaking role is perfect for the reticent boy, who’s ridiculed frequently by three bullies: Buck, Turin, and Eugene. Oliver is so timid that he doesn’t stand up for himself despite being a fourth-year judo student. At home, Oliver enjoys rousing escapades as a pirate captain alongside his brothers, 8-year-old “Lil Nicky” and 3-year-old “Kid Gross.” Oliver’s best friend and classmate, Sabrina Flores, often joins the boys aboard the imaginary ship Wind Fury, battling other vessels and even aliens. When “Captain Maris’s” mother is taken, he doesn’t hesitate to board an extraterrestrial craft to rescue her. There, the Captain and his cohorts meet Grumpus, a man who looks like Santa Claus and who gives them a map. “To get to your mother,” the man says, “you have to cross into the Parallel Dimension.” The Captain does so as the Wind Fury approaches a mirror image of itself, crew included. He takes on the identity of the boy across from him, Oliver, keeping his true nature as a pirate a secret. The Captain then starts upgrading Oliver’s life by trouncing the bullies and auditioning for the play’s lead role. But the knowledge of his mom’s cancer and some slips back into the role of Captain make the adventurer’s path a rocky one.

Bravo’s inventive tale possesses a tricky structure that should draw in his target audience. After the informative first chapter, readers plunge into a lengthy fantasy section that seemingly abandons Oliver, the student, and his various problems. The Captain’s confidence is noticeable and stirring to behold. He tells Lil Nicky: “Each moment is an opportunity to make things better.” Grumpus later advises the Captain: “To become the boy, you must forget who you are,” a line that sounds playful enough but contains hefty emotional weight for adult readers who realize that childhood, usually full of light and innocence, is so difficult to recapture even in the imagination. A further narrative shift occurs as multiple chapters of Adam and the Whale appear in the text. The author’s creative approach shows younger readers the directions in which fiction can stretch, preparing them for classics like Bram Stoker’s epistolary Dracula. Most importantly, Oliver’s bullying does not happen in a vacuum. Readers see that Buck lives in an emotionally abusive home and believes—sweetly and naïvely—that starring in the play is a steppingstone to a professional acting career and a better life. He and the Captain eventually come to understand each other—after some questionable brawling, of course. The plot of Adam and the Whale offers an extended metaphor about looking deeper at cause and effect while allowing Bravo to deliver some sublime moments. In one scene, Madame Maura, a soothsayer, wears “an evil grin” that “oozed out onto her aged and leathery face.” A solution to the mystery of Grumpus rounds out the heartwarming tale.

An engaging, challenging, and thoughtfully balanced adventure.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: 978-1-73619-861-2

Page Count: 124

Publisher: Manuscript

Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021

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THE WILD ROBOT PROTECTS

From the Wild Robot series , Vol. 3

Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.

Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.

When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.

Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023

ISBN: 9780316669412

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023

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THE LION OF LARK-HAYES MANOR

A pleasing premise for book lovers.

A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.

When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)

A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Pub Date: May 2, 2023

ISBN: 9780316448222

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023

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