This series’ second installment delivers quirky characters, offbeat humor, an enjoyably convoluted plot, and a distinctive...
Having freed his father from imprisonment in Aviopolis in series opener Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle (2014), the mysterious ancient city that lies beneath Brooklyn, Gabriel recruits allies, both human and avian, to help rescue his mother.
With Paladin, his raven amicus, Gabriel learns that his evil uncle, Corax, who fled Aviopolis with the dastardly robin Snitcher, whom he now controls through the cursed torc, is plotting to reclaim his body, hidden in the Chamber of Runes. The Chamber also holds Gabriel’s mother, magically imprisoned, but in the collapse of Aviopolis, its location was lost. While Corax commands his valravens (avian ghouls) to force Gabriel to divulge the Chamber’s location, Gabriel and his friends mount their own search. Pamela is delighted to acquire an amicus, the raven Vyka, a rare partnership. Is Pamela also a Finley? Why won’t her mother say? Abby’s jealous: she longs for an amicus, too—after all, she’s a whiz at answering raven riddles. Somes has his own parent questions: how did his grumpy father come to lose part of a finger? The surprising answer hints at a connection between his family and the Finleys. Perils confronted include ingestion by an earthworm, confinement in a magical pet shop, and navigating an underground maze leading to the now-ruined city. To survive will require teamwork, courage, and of course an aptitude for solving riddles. The cast is a largely white one.
This series’ second installment delivers quirky characters, offbeat humor, an enjoyably convoluted plot, and a distinctive take on urban wildlife—imaginary and real. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-55347-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
Pratchett-like worldbuilding centers immigrant kids in a story filled with culture, humor, and heart.
At home in Haiti, 10-year-old Gabrielle Marie Jean loves the rain, scary stories, beating the boys in mango-eating contests, and her family, most of all.
When her parents’ paperwork issues mean she must immigrate to the United States alone, every heavenly thing she believes about America can’t outweigh the sense of dread she feels in leaving everything she knows behind. A preternaturally sensitive child, Gabrielle feels responsible for not only her own success, but her whole family’s, so the stakes of moving in with her uncle, aunt, and cousins in Brooklyn are high—even before Lady Lydia, a witch, tries to steal her essence. Lydia makes her an offer she can’t refuse: achieving assimilation. Arnold skillfully fuses distinct immigrant experiences with the supernatural to express a universally felt desire for belonging. Gabrielle desperately wants to fit in despite the xenophobia she experiences every day and despite making new, accepting friends in Mexican American Carmen and Rocky the talking rat-rabbit. But in trying to change herself, Gabrielle risks giving Lydia the power to conquer Brooklyn. Gabrielle is a charming narrator, and of course, good guy (girl) magic wins out in the end, but the threat to immigrant lives and identities is presented poignantly nonetheless in this richly imaginative origin story of one Haitian American girl that offers a fantastical take on immigrant narratives.
Pratchett-like worldbuilding centers immigrant kids in a story filled with culture, humor, and heart. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-27275-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Versify/HMH
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
A fizzy mix of low humor and brisk action, with promise of more of both to come.
Heroic deeds await Isaac after his little sister runs into the school basement and is captured by elves.
Even though their school is a spooky old castle transplanted stone by stone from Germany, Isaac and his two friends, Max and Emma, little suspect that an entire magical kingdom lies beneath—a kingdom run by elves, policed by oversized rats in uniform, and populated by captives who start out human but undergo transformative “weirding.” These revelations await Isaac and sidekicks as they nerve themselves to trail his bossy younger sib, Lily, through a shadowy storeroom and into a tunnel, across a wide lake, and into a city lit by half-human fireflies, where they are cast together into a dungeon. Can they escape before they themselves start changing? Gibson pits his doughty rescuers against such adversaries as an elven monarch who emits truly kingly belches and a once-human jailer with a self-picking nose. Tests of mettle range from a riddle contest to a face-off with the menacing head rat Shelfliver, and a helter-skelter chase finally leads rescuers and rescued back to the aboveground. Plainly, though, there is further rescuing to be done.
A fizzy mix of low humor and brisk action, with promise of more of both to come. (Fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62370-255-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
