A straightforward morality tale for early elementary schoolers, with a twist.
A boy decides to trade in his best friend for a better model in Black’s illustrated children’s fantasy novella.
Ten-year-old Jim Jones doesn’t take kindly to losing, so when he and his best friend, Adi Anand, get into a fight over a video game, he declares their friendship over. Jim’s parents suspect something is up at dinnertime and ask him about the problem. After Jim explains, his dad declares they must go to the Friend Exchange: “Everyone knows all about it. You bring in your old friend and exchange him for a new one.” Jim is skeptical, but the next day his father brings him to an unmarked storefront where a bespectacled man meets him with a contract. The boy signs the paperwork, and the man explains that his associates will go and pick up Adi; then, Jim is taken to a room full of children in glass cases, each with descriptions that include their names, likes, and dislikes. He chooses a boy named Daniel, based on Daniel’s love of video games, and eagerly awaits his arrival. Daniel takes Adi’s place, but things don’t work out as Jim hoped. He trades Daniel in for another friend—this time a younger girl named Kathy, whom he hopes to be able to boss around. However, he eventually learns a familiar lesson: Be careful what you wish for. Black’s cautionary tale features fast-paced action and a clear moral that will be most appropriate for readers of early elementary school age. Gaddis’ cartoon-style pen-and-ink illustrations help break up the text and may make it seem less visually intimidating for early readers. (The characters’ skin tones are unclear, due to the overall lack of color.) Although it initially appears that the story strains credulity, a twist at the end sheds a great deal of light on the situation, even if it’s not a particularly original plot turn. An eventual reunion in the story may serve as a model to young readers for resolving arguments.
A straightforward morality tale for early elementary schoolers, with a twist.Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781956193763
Page Count: 50
Publisher: Global Book Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short.
In the dystopian, totalitarian world of 2099, 14-year-old Tessa and her family are desperate to solve the mystery of her twin brother Theo’s disappearance.
Tessa is growing up in a time when playgrounds are historical relics, surveillance cameras are everywhere, music is outlawed, and owning books is illegal. Under the absolute rule of Zokiris, the decadeslong leader of her territory, people are heavily controlled. When Theo vanishes under mysterious circumstances and his name is erased from the Territory Statistics list, Tessa’s 135-year-old neighbor, Miriam, gives the family contraband books that become central to figuring out Theo’s whereabouts. Most books have long since been seized and stored away in Building 903; Tessa is intrigued by their presence in her home, while her mother is terrified. Lowry, the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Giver (1993), shines in her creation of uncomfortably believable dystopian societies. Tessa’s painfully limited world is fully imagined, with its own history, laws, and norms. Her relationship with her brother reads as realistic and tender and is crucial to the mystery. Miriam is the most strongly developed character: wise and independent, unafraid and hopeful. While the climb to the book’s climax is captivating, the hurried resolution is disappointing. The powerful messaging around the importance of literature and imagination certainly resonates, however. The main characters present white.
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short. (Dystopian. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780063515109
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic.
A loyal black kitten’s boy is under supernatural attack.
Eleven-month-old Nimbus loves Fletcher, the boy who nursed her back to health following life-threatening injuries. When Fletcher becomes curious about a strange jar and opens it, releasing a terrible goblin, loyal Nim protects Fletcher, taking heavy damage in the process. But Fletcher’s aunt, who’s caring for him over spring break, believes Nim attacked Fletcher and dumps her far from home. Rhett, a stylish rat with star quality, befriends injured Nim and leads her to a witch’s house. While the witch cares for Nim, the witch’s cats (maternal Fern, bookish Rochester, standoffish Bianca, and openly hostile Abraxas) teach Nim important cat skills. She also discovers she has a supernatural ability: In destroying one eye of the nightmare demon in the fight to protect Fletcher, Nim gained its “dream sight.” But she also learns it might come back for Fletcher, who no longer has Nim to protect him, posing a time-sensitive, high-stakes threat. Even though the witch’s home is nice and magic itself seems to be telling her to stay put, Nim wants to find a way back to Fletcher. As a hero, Nimbus is as gritty and determined as she is adorable. Tear-jerker moments explore pet abandonment—readers may want their own pets on hand to hug—all the way through the magical, action-packed finale. Fletcher and the witch read white.
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780062680372
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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