Still, how the friends proceed makes for an amiable tale and a subtly scathing critique on today’s exploitative media...
Busy monster-chasing adventures in an alternate-universe Hollywood, California.
Brown introduces 11-year-old buddies Tommy Wainwright, Collen “Spike” Hernandez, and Karim Khalil, who’s the son of legendary fantastic-beast hunter and former TV star Yousef “The Fang” Khalil. What starts as the threesome trapping—and Tommy taking a selfie with—a basilisk at their school moves to their successfully catching a mischievous gremlin before failing to nab a two-toed snipe. Along the way, they ensnare the attention of AppVenture, an online monster-elimination service with some questionable branding and job practices, including hiring the underage trio. Characterization is uneven. The author develops Tommy from a white male “beefcake” to a loving big brother who uses his AppVenture earnings to send his 8-year-old sister to Adventure Camp and Karim (who presents black) from a son scared of his own—and his father’s—shadow to a young person claiming his legacy. Unfortunately, Spike comes across as a person with anti-social personality disorder in the guise of a plucky Latina heroine who deeply resents her father, Luis, who divorced her mother, moved across the country, and resurfaces as an employee at AppVenture. This mixes with some unnecessary punching-down jokes about suing for fat discrimination and a tiresome running gag about Tommy’s love for the protein product Brotein.
Still, how the friends proceed makes for an amiable tale and a subtly scathing critique on today’s exploitative media culture and gig economy. (Science fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: July 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-31851-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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