by Gary Karton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2013
A refreshingly imaginative, emotionally satisfying quest for all ages.
A funny, engaging YA adventure with an important lesson at its core.
Brody Boondoggle, an intrepid 12-year-old, is out with his hilariously verbose (and hard-of-hearing) Grammy walking in the woods when they spot a strange creature across the pond. Brody’s curiosity leads to a bite on his eyebrow, but the interaction awakens a special power inside him that Grammy heartily encourages but his older, more rational brother, Jake, refuses to believe. Brody’s new fantastical, animal trait–based skill set—he need only concentrate on, say, a locust or a flying squirrel to adopt its particular physical qualities—also alienates his best friend, Rudy, which leads to a rivalry that threatens not only their friendship but an entire magical world that includes talking crabs and elusive fish. When the magical creature that bit Brody—an Akaway, whom Jake can’t see at first—begins to weaken, it’s up to Brody to confront an epidemic of indifference to magic, which has been brought about by a particularly addictive video game. What follows is a spirited journey of self-discovery and a celebration of childish imagination, as well as an exploration of kids’ resourcefulness and inherent goodness. Important, though far from didactic, teaching moments abound, wrapped in exciting descriptions and incorporated easily and naturally into the story. Author Karton has an ear finely tuned to the rhythms and sweet absurdities of childhood patter, and his tale has enough fabulous twists and turns to keep even the most grown-up young adults intrigued. While the writing falls in the well-plumbed tradition of adventure tales—readers will recognize a number of fondly made references—the villain and resolution are wonderfully original. Adults reading to children will also delight in the wholesomely irreverent tone and moments of linguistic fancy.
A refreshingly imaginative, emotionally satisfying quest for all ages.Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9854295-0-8
Page Count: 183
Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013
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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by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Barbara Szepesi Szucs ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2019
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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