Good characterization, but the adventures could have used more excitement.
On a trip to Scotland, an American teenager and his dog fight an otherworldly battle between good and evil in this YA adventure.
Paul Wonder, 13, lives in Venice Beach, California, with his father, Noah, his aunt Rue, and his grandmother Bernice; his mother, Rebekah, died of cancer when he was 7. Magic, Paul’s golden retriever, became part of the family after mysteriously showing up in Paul’s bed three years ago. Only Paul has seen the dog’s eyes turn neon yellow and its fur turn sparkling gold at certain times, as when Magic saved him from a car accident. The family is deeply involved in Bible study, prayer, and church, but Paul shares a taste for adventure with Rue, who’s a police detective. When Noah, a filmmaker, announces plans to bring Paul, Rue, Bernice, and Magic to Scotland for his next job, Paul is thrilled: maybe he’ll see the Loch Ness monster! He has a great time sightseeing and enjoying Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival as well as making new, teenage friends, although one kid—ominously named Judas—scares him. Judas has a goth style and a monstrous, black dog named Goliath who seems as demonic as Magic seems angelic. When the crew gets to Loch Ness, Magic shows just how protective—and magical—a dog can be. In this debut novel, Gene captures Paul’s young-teenage point of view well, including his excitement about traveling, his love for his dog, his budding interest in girls, and how he misses his mother. Some details are unnecessarily repeated, but the book does give solid information about Scotland generally, Edinburgh specifically, and local tourist activities. The book’s title may lead readers to expect a Loch Ness–focused story, but most of the action takes place in Edinburgh; the characters don’t even reach the lake until the final five chapters. Also, although a few scary moments enliven things along the way, the book’s final confrontation is badly underdescribed: Magic’s battle is “amazing”—and then, in the next sentence, it’s over.
Good characterization, but the adventures could have used more excitement.Pub Date: May 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4908-7763-1
Page Count: 132
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
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