A well-illustrated and often clever adventure with entertaining twists and turns.
In Ness’s debut middle-grade novel, an alien keeps a human as a pet.
Zira, a young, green-skinned “blorxling” with antennae, has “been begging her mom for decades” for a pet. She asks her older brother, Lazro, to convince their mother to let her get an earthling. Lazro does so, but keeps it a secret, as does Riffa, Zira’s older sister. Zira is surprised with an earthling named Rolo, who’s content in his situation. He’s fed “goopy food” and walks his own tiny green pet, Quiggles. One day, Rolo sees “animal rights activists” with signs saying that “Earthlings Have Rights Too.” He wonders: Were there always earthlings on Blorx? Later, he asks his earthling friends, “don’t you ever wonder if maybe there’s something more?” He unintentionally draws the attention of earthling catchers (“Animal Control Force”) for violating a civil regulation that “requires earthlings to be under direct supervision of their owners or wranglers at all times in public.” Rolo flees, but the earthling catchers, Zira, and Riffa chase after him; the chase gives readers an overview of Blorx and the military might of the Animal Control Force. Eventually, Rolo and company meet Grandam Zananna, a curator at a science museum who shares information about earthlings. Young pet owners will easily understand moments that parallel how real-life human beings relate to their pets; early in the story, for instance, Rolo is pictured in a dark “cardboard box, with just a little ambient light shining from the twelve round air holes near the top.” Kids will be kept in suspense throughout Rolo’s adventures, however, and remain curious about his fate. Ness’ story has unimaginative details at times, as with place names such as “Blorfrica,” “Blurope,” and “Blasia.” However, Komarenko’s cartoon images will delight children with their colorful and creative renderings of blorxlings and other creatures.
A well-illustrated and often clever adventure with entertaining twists and turns.Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2023
ISBN: 9798988037101
Page Count: 170
Publisher: Zira Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Plays to Rowling’s fan base; equally suited for gifting and reading aloud or alone.
A 7-year-old descends into the Land of the Lost in search of his beloved comfort object.
Jack has loved Dur Pig long enough to wear the beanbag toy into tattered shapelessness—which is why, when his angry older stepsister chucks it out the car window on Christmas Eve, he not only throws a titanic tantrum and viciously rejects the titular replacement pig, but resolves to sneak out to find DP. To his amazement, the Christmas Pig offers to guide him to the place where all lost Things go. Whiffs of childhood classics, assembled with admirable professionalism into a jolly adventure story that plays all the right chords, hang about this tale of loss and love. Along with family drama, Rowling stirs in fantasy, allegory, and generous measures of social and political commentary. Pursued by the Land’s cruel and monstrous Loser, Jack and the Christmas Pig pass through territories from the Wastes of the Unlamented, where booger-throwing Bad Habits roam, to the luxurious City of the Missed for encounters with Hope, Happiness, and Power (a choleric king who rejects a vote that doesn’t go his way). A joyful reunion on the Island of the Beloved turns poignant, but Christmas Eve being “a night for miracles and lost causes,” perhaps there’s still a chance (with a little help from Santa) for everything to come right? In both the narrative and Field’s accomplished, soft-focus illustrations, the cast presents White.
Plays to Rowling’s fan base; equally suited for gifting and reading aloud or alone. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-79023-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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