A beautiful world for patient readers to explore.
Ishmael lives on a dry, barren farm in a drab, gray world.
One day, a strange beam of brilliant light breaks through the monotony. Ishmael’s never seen anything like it before—it seems to have a life of its own—and he can’t find the words to describe it. “Light span? Ribbon of brightness? Shiny flash?” When the light separates into seven disparate bands, it comes to him: “splintered light.” “It’s only light,” Mam says; she can’t see its uniqueness. The only person who might understand Ishmael’s curiosity and excitement is his older brother, Luc, who left home four years ago. Against Mam’s wishes, the 11-year-old travels to the Commons, the seat of creation, where reality is shaped. Finding Luc, who is training to be a color keeper, Ishmael discovers that splintered light is the color spectrum and not everyone can see it. When Ishmael accidentally prevents Luc from carrying out his dream, he tries to make things right, but nothing goes as it should. Johnson takes a familiar coming-of-age arc and wraps it in a gorgeously built world that asks readers to plumb the nature of creation. The book is divided into five parts, each beginning with an epigraph from Gerard Manley Hopkins’ ode to creation, “Pied Beauty,” but, like the intricate worldbuilding, the words may need multiple reads for total comprehension. Racial differences are hinted at in descriptions of hair texture and physiognomy, but within this world's limited palette, the book adheres to the white default.
A beautiful world for patient readers to explore. (Fantasy. 8-13)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-623-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Come for the dragons but stay for the suspenseful reveals and relatable characters.
A lonely and anxious English girl discovers a family secret in this series opener from acclaimed Scottish author Murray.
Twelve-year-old Alex Evans, who presents white, lives a cloistered life with her controlling mother. Her only escape is the nearby forest, which reminds her of her deceased father. There she meets Oliphos, a kind (and oddly dressed) Black man with a Scottish accent, who tells her something surprising about her heritage. Oliphos introduces Alex to Dr. Archibald P. Puppinsworth, a Dragon Scholar who knows all about the Otherworld, the magical dimension where dragons live. Alex realizes that she possesses a special power that might help locate the Phylactery, a long-missing magical object sought by the villainous Drak Midna, a terrifyingly manipulative—and enormous—ancient dragon. Along the way to Skralla, one of the last dragon refuges, with Oliphos, Alex meets Erik, an orphan with “chestnut curls” who understands what it’s like to feel like an outsider. Both young people are battling unknowns and deep loneliness, and their complex characterization feels realistic even though fantasy worldbuilding forms the backdrop of their friendship. Coming from a highly sheltered background, Alex may be naïve at first, but she grows in maturity and bravery as the book progresses. The well-executed worldbuilding includes portals called waypaths and dragons with creative features. Murray explores themes of intolerance through the world’s history of human-dragon conflict.
Come for the dragons but stay for the suspenseful reveals and relatable characters. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9798217113217
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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