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THE DASTARDLY DEED

From the League of Beastly Dreadfuls series , Vol. 2

A fine middle volume, lit up with “laughs and tears and the occasional fart joke.” (wig information and quiz appended)...

Aspiring detective/veterinarian/artist Anastasia McCrumpet’s escape from vile St. Agony’s Asylum leads to radical changes of fortune, status, mission, and even name in this revelation-packed sequel to The League of Beastly Dreadfuls (2015).

Having been taken to the subterranean city of Nowhere Special (beneath the Swiss Alps), Anastasia learns not only that she’s a princess of the royal Merrymoon family, but that her grandfather Nicodemus has a special tattoo that could help her find her missing father. But Nicodemus too is missing—locked in an invisible casket at the start of a centuries-old war between witches and the shape-changing Morfolk. Calling on all the sleuthing skills learned from her fictional heroine Francie Dewdrop and hardly slowed by either snotty cousin Saskia or her own “tragic flatulence,” Anastasia sets out in search of clues to the eponymous Deed through a dizzying array of gleefully baroque distractions. Clues indeed do turn up, along with both old and new members for Anastasia’s allied League of Beastly Dreadfuls, awful hazards like thought-eating “mooncooties,” and many references to poop, vomit, waffles, bats, cupcakes with glow-in-the-dark mushroom filling, silly powdered wigs, and like diversions. Finished illustrations not seen.

A fine middle volume, lit up with “laughs and tears and the occasional fart joke.” (wig information and quiz appended) (Fantasy. 10-12)

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-385-37025-7

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015

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BOOKED

A satisfying, winning read.

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Nick Hall is a bright eighth-grader who would rather do anything other than pay attention in class.

Instead he daydreams about soccer, a girl he likes, and an upcoming soccer tournament. His linguistics-professor father carefully watches his educational progress, requiring extra reading and word study, much to Nick’s chagrin and protest. Fortunately, his best friend, Coby, shares his passion for soccer—and, sadly, the unwanted attention of twin bullies in their school. Nick senses something is going on with his parents, but their announcement that they are separating is an unexpected blow: “it’s like a bombshell / drops / right in the center / of your heart / and it splatters / all across your life.” The stress leads to counseling, and his life is further complicated by injury and emergency surgery. His soccer dream derailed, Nick turns to the books he has avoided and finds more than he expected. Alexander’s highly anticipated follow-up to Newbery-winning The Crossover is a reflective narrative, with little of the first book’s explosive energy. What the mostly free-verse novel does have is a likable protagonist, great wordplay, solid teen and adult secondary characters, and a clear picture of the challenges young people face when self-identity clashes with parental expectations. The soccer scenes are vivid and will make readers wish for more, but the depiction of Nick as he unlocks his inner reader is smooth and believable.

A satisfying, winning read. (Fiction. 10-12)

Pub Date: April 5, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-544-57098-6

Page Count: 320

Publisher: HMH Books

Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016

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KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES

From the Keeper of the Lost Cities series , Vol. 1

Wholesome shading to bland, but well-stocked with exotic creatures and locales, plus an agreeable cast headed by a child...

A San Diego preteen learns that she’s an elf, with a place in magic school if she moves to the elves’ hidden realm.

Having felt like an outsider since a knock on the head at age 5 left her able to read minds, Sophie is thrilled when hunky teen stranger Fitz convinces her that she’s not human at all and transports her to the land of Lumenaria, where the ageless elves live. Taken in by a loving couple who run a sanctuary for extinct and mythical animals, Sophie quickly gathers friends and rivals at Foxfire, a distinctly Hogwarts-style school. She also uncovers both clues to her mysterious origins and hints that a rash of strangely hard-to-quench wildfires back on Earth are signs of some dark scheme at work. Though Messenger introduces several characters with inner conflicts and ambiguous agendas, Sophie herself is more simply drawn as a smart, radiant newcomer who unwillingly becomes the center of attention while developing what turn out to be uncommonly powerful magical abilities—reminiscent of the younger Harry Potter, though lacking that streak of mischievousness that rescues Harry from seeming a little too perfect. The author puts her through a kidnapping and several close brushes with death before leaving her poised, amid hints of a higher destiny and still-anonymous enemies, for sequels.

Wholesome shading to bland, but well-stocked with exotic creatures and locales, plus an agreeable cast headed by a child who, while overly fond of screaming, rises to every challenge. (Fantasy. 10-12)

Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-4424-4593-2

Page Count: 496

Publisher: Aladdin

Review Posted Online: July 17, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012

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