A cosmic blend of magical monsters and scary science as frightening as it is fun.
After the events of Infestation (2021), the town’s conspiracy deepens into new dangers.
Rae, Caden, and Vivienne emerged victorious against the bugs—but that doesn’t mean they won the internship competition to get to go on a top-secret mission. When a new, deadly threat strikes close to home, they want to join forces with friends on the other team; however, said friends are missing. In this third Whispering Pines installment, backstories are mined (Caden’s family history with the Other Place, the mystery of Rae’s missing father, and the nature of Vivienne’s curse) and connected into a twisted net of plotlines. The fast-paced action propels the characters through revelations and uneasy team-ups with Green On!’s untrustworthy Patrick and Caden’s enigmatic older brother, Aiden. Throughout, there’s a constant sense of buildup to the larger stakes. The more immediate stakes are just as delightful, with new monsters out for blood. The backstories and histories of the various mysteries make the monsters feel like a natural development rather than standard sequel one-upmanship. The answers the characters finally get are hard fought and well earned, and the ending lull offers them no true relief—especially since readers will see a major cliffhanger waiting in the wings for the next volume. Aside from occasional surnames implying ethnic diversity, most human characters present White.
A cosmic blend of magical monsters and scary science as frightening as it is fun. (Horror. 8-13)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66590-808-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
A snappy mystery that’s full of heart.
A group of bright friends tackles the puzzle of their lives.
Elmwood, New Hampshire, 11-year-old Gina Sparks is small in stature but big on reporting ongoing dramas for the local newspaper with support from her journalist mom. When an unbelievable scoop comes her way, Gina must rely on her tightknit crew of sixth grade best friends whose initials happen to spell GEEK, a label they choose to proudly reclaim. She and science-minded prankster Elena Hernández, theater kid Edgar Feingarten, and driven math genius Kevin Robinson decide to get to the bottom of things when they learn that the Van Houten Toy & Game Company heir made elaborate plans to leave everything to the town of Elmwood before her death—but only if a member of the community could solve an intricate multistep puzzle. Gina hopes that deciphering the clues and finding the missing fortune will be just the thing to revitalize the down-on-its-luck town and bring the Elmwood Tribune back into the black, saving her mom’s job and Gina’s passion project. The GEEKs work together, using their individual talents and deductive reasoning skills to unravel the mystery. Infused with media literacy pointers, such as the difference between fact and opinion and reminders to avoid bias when reporting, the story encourages readers to think critically. Gina and Edgar read as White; Elena is cued as Latinx, and Kevin is implied Black.
A snappy mystery that’s full of heart. (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37793-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Contagiously goofy and fun.
Area 51 gets its first new resident in 5 years—and a new mystery.
When her grandma moves into a kid-free retirement home, 12-year-old orphan Priya “Sky” Patel-Baum and Spike, her pet hedgehog, relocate to Area 51 to live with Sky’s eccentric Uncle Anish. At 51, humans and Break Throughs (government-speak for aliens) live together off-grid in harmony. Unfortunately, several Zdstrammars (one of many Break Through species) mysteriously disappear, disrupting the base’s harmony and contributing to feelings of suspicion. Despite being deputy head of the Federal Bureau of Alien Investigations, Uncle Anish becomes a prime suspect. Can Sky and Elvis, her alien classmate, prove Uncle Anish’s innocence and find the missing Zdstrammars before it’s too late? YA author Buxbaum’s middle-grade debut is a rip-roaring series opener complete with over-the-top characters and jokes galore. Naidu’s black-and-white cartoon illustrations extend the comedy with ongoing commentary that smartly interacts with the prose. The cast of Break Through species—like Audiotooters, Galzorian, and Sanitizoria—have hilariously creative on-the-nose names with illustrations to match. Sky is coded biracial, with a White dad and Indian mom. Aliens appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors; Elvis shape-shifts but looks like a brown-skinned boy to Sky. Though the main mystery is neatly wrapped up, the cliffhanger ending promises more laughs.
Contagiously goofy and fun. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-42946-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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