In this third adventure in a series, two sixth-grade detectives investigating a mysterious DeLorean discover a hidden tunnel and nefarious shenanigans.
When a schoolyard argument ensues over whether someone really was pushing a DeLorean into Farmer Zimmer’s barn near the abandoned secret Air Force antenna station, the kids know who can provide the answers: the Tanner-Dent Detective Agency, consisting of sixth-graders Wilson “Whiz” Tanner and Joey Dent, who narrates the book. (They also know enough to make a Back to the Future reference.) With their well-equipped secret crime lab and Whiz’s “super-duper brainpower,” the duo has already solved several mysteries in Jasper Springs that confounded local police. After dodging some bulls in Farmer Zimmer’s field, the agents do discover the DeLorean in his barn—along with some puzzling elements, like a large hole with a ladder in it. Further surveillance shows that Donald and Cal, two suspicious men, are digging a tunnel toward the Air Force station in order to steal a large safelike object for an unknown buyer. With adults hard to convince, the boys know it’s up to them to nail the thieves, so they conceive a daring, technologically advanced, and patriotic plan to expose the villainous plot, hoping once again to show the power of meddling kids. Rexroad (Whiz Tanner and the Vanishing Diamond, 2018, etc.) provides another pleasing entry in this series, which, despite its modern setting has the vintage feel of Donald J. Sobol’s Encyclopedia Brown books or Robert Anthony Jr.’s Three Investigators series. This is partly due to the lack of any real danger in the story as well as Joey’s love of root-beer floats, plus Jasper Springs’ poor cellphone coverage—meaning old-fashioned communication difficulties (that happen to be convenient for the plot). But Rexroad does introduce modern investigative tools and techniques like geotagging, drones, and pattern-recognition programs, which are used to good effect in solving the mystery. The book moves at a cracking pace with several exciting episodes that require courage and resourcefulness from Whiz and Joey, leading to an ending that’s pure satisfaction. Joey, an ordinary, sports-loving kid, supplies a relatable narrative voice that makes a good contrast with Whiz’s precise diction and brainy vocabulary.
Another highly entertaining Tanner-Dent investigation.Pub Date: April 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-946650-04-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Rexroad International
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION
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BOOK REVIEW
In this riveting futuristic novel, Spaz, a teenage boy with epilepsy, makes a dangerous journey in the company of an old man and a young boy. The old man, Ryter, one of the few people remaining who can read and write, has dedicated his life to recording stories. Ryter feels a kinship with Spaz, who unlike his contemporaries has a strong memory; because of his epilepsy, Spaz cannot use the mind probes that deliver entertainment straight to the brain and rot it in the process. Nearly everyone around him uses probes to escape their life of ruin and poverty, the result of an earthquake that devastated the world decades earlier. Only the “proovs,” genetically improved people, have grass, trees, and blue skies in their aptly named Eden, inaccessible to the “normals” in the Urb. When Spaz sets out to reach his dying younger sister, he and his companions must cross three treacherous zones ruled by powerful bosses. Moving from one peril to the next, they survive only with help from a proov woman. Enriched by Ryter’s allusions to nearly lost literature and full of intriguing, invented slang, the skillful writing paints two pictures of what the world could look like in the future—the burned-out Urb and the pristine Eden—then shows the limits and strengths of each. Philbrick, author of Freak the Mighty (1993) has again created a compelling set of characters that engage the reader with their courage and kindness in a painful world that offers hope, if no happy endings. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-439-08758-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2000
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An intensely readable yet alarmingly violent cross between TV shows Lost and Survivor.
In book one of this series, Marcus, a runaway, is kidnapped and taken to an island in the Bermuda Triangle where a government-sponsored experiment is supposedly under way to measure how bodies react to extreme pressures in a hostile environment. Wounded 13-year-old Lynn is also trapped in the frightening wilderness surrounded by electrified fences. The teens are told they will be hunted and killed, but they adjust amazingly fast, finding water and shelter and creating weapons. When Lynn is apparently killed, Marcus becomes obsessed with vengeance and uses great ingenuity to murder many mysterious agents. He does capture one, however, who is willing to cooperate, and the two are helped by an unseen yet terrifying monster that remains one of the island’s greatest unexplained mysteries. The strange island, hostiles, traps, dangerous boars and experimenting on humans are all reminiscent of Lost; the need for companionship, shelter, food and weapons remind one of Survivor. A few details detract from the storyline throughout, such as whether the captured agent would so quickly become an ally or that Marcus would know how to build grenades and bombs so easily. Abrupt shifts between first and third person are also quite jarring. Despite these pitfalls, readers will root for Marcus and his crew to prevail over the sinister Survival Op staff, and the story concludes with plenty of plot threads to explore in further editions.
Unquestionably readable, full of action and suspense.Pub Date: March 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-595-42062-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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