A fine outdoor adventure that skillfully balances humor and realism.
Savage’s middle-grade adventure follows three boys in their quest to find treasure while fighting for their lives and personhood along the way.
Thirteen-year-old Jack Mathias is a true prankster. He plays jokes and gets into so much mischief that he fails his classes and is slated to attend summer school. But when he and his sidekick, Gene, find a treasure map dating back to Colonial America, they must plot their adventure while avoiding parental intervention, which means that they have to include Gene’s friend Edgar Crumm, a “quiet and weird” kid whom Jack dislikes. The three enter the woods, intent upon finding treasure, but as they venture forth, they encounter Lito, a man who lives off the land; treacherous bridges and rapids; and Johnny and Bruno, two criminals who trap the boys in a cave and abscond with their map. Drawing upon their resources, the boys escape and seek out the help they need to find the treasure and to survive. Savage’s middle-grade adventure is not only a humorous story with fart jokes, characters with colossal egos, and poorly executed planning and problem-solving; it’s also the story of three boys with different personalities and strengths who must fight to find some semblance of selfhood as they work together to reach a common goal. The author avoids didacticism as he expertly weaves middle school angst and comedy with a tale of indirect mentorship, resulting in a fun, engaging, and thought-provoking read. Although there are times when events seem improbable or extraneous, it’s a story that will allow young readers to grasp valuable lessons while enjoying an escapist journey.
A fine outdoor adventure that skillfully balances humor and realism.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2022
ISBN: 9781800162549
Page Count: 254
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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