A nifty mystery with pleasant superhero twists.
An average teen unravels the mystery of his missing father.
High school junior Bailey’s father disappeared seven years ago without any clues as to where he went. There were no warning signs, his parents were happy together, and his father loved him. So where did Dad go? Bailey’s spent the time without his dad trying to suppress his abandonment issues and move forward, but when he discovers a secret basement under his house that contains an Iron Man–esque supersuit, Bailey starts to piece the puzzle together. The suit is identical to the one worn by the long-forgotten villain Mayhem, a domestic terrorist who’d smash up banks, steal the money, and deliver it to orphanages and other downtrodden folks via wire transfers and anonymous donations. It isn’t long before Bailey tries on the suit and steps into his father’s shoes, looking for more answers to his questions. The mystery unravels at a steady pace, never letting readers get too far ahead or moving too quickly so that they become lost. There are some clever twists and turns here along with strong character work. Bailey is a compelling protagonist, and the author smartly shades his parents enough to make their relationship just as interesting. The novel’s end points to a possible sequel, but the emotional arcs have a solid conclusion that will leave readers feeling satisfied. Characters are assumed white.
A nifty mystery with pleasant superhero twists. (Adventure. 12-16)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4255-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
A flavorful mille-feuille with equally tasty layers of dark magic, light comedy and salty determination.
Receiving birthday well-wishes is a delight, unless one of those greetings is on creepy green stationery that obligates you to reanimate a supposed-to-be-dead wicked relative.
Demonstrating that Paris isn’t always baguettes and bicycles, Maya’s 13th-birthday happiness is challenged from every angle. Her mother falls ill, her best (and only) friend, Valko, is being sent to Bulgaria, and an off-putting ripple of something peculiar is gradually transforming Paris for the worse. Maya soon realizes that Henri de Fourcroy, the cousin she banished but didn’t exactly kill, is behind the dark wave of strangeness changing the city. With the use of some sinister stationery, Henri binds Maya to helping him rematerialize at the eventual cost of her own life. Thus the struggle to save herself and the world from the growing circle of mischievous magic commences as gargoyles, a madwoman and a purple-eyed shadow stalk her. A twist of the magic makes its transformative effects visible only to Maya and Valko, cementing this as a battle they must strategically fight without adult help. Stone monsters and spells aside, this is at its core a tale of summoning intellect, guts and logic to save the day. This sequel to The Cabinet of Earths (2012) has, like Maya, only become more refined, its vividly sensory third-person narration artful and immediate. And though reading the previous book is helpful, it can substantially stand on its own.
A flavorful mille-feuille with equally tasty layers of dark magic, light comedy and salty determination. (Suspense. 12-15)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210425-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A wrenching piece with a wisp of hope for the protagonists if not for the rest of their world.
With severe drought, child enslavement, and multiple shootings of people and dogs, this slim volume isn’t for the faint of heart, though it repays those who soldier on.
In an unspecified African “place of dust and death,” in a story somewhere between realism and fable, Nandi the dog narrates an opening scene in which Sarel sees her parents gunned down. The gunmen, failing to find a water source, set the house afire and depart, leaving Sarel orphaned on her desert homestead. An underground grotto with a well sustains Sarel and her pack of dogs—fully family to her—while they recover from smoke inhalation and bullet wounds. In a nearby city, Musa sits in chains, taken outdoors only when gunmen (those who shot Sarel’s parents) need a dowser—Musa hears a buzz in his skull when water’s nearby. One generation ago, there were faucets and lawn sprinklers; now, gangs kill for a water bottle. When Musa escapes and Sarel’s well runs dry, the tale’s fablelike nature makes their meeting inevitable, even in the desert. The narration uses primarily Sarel’s and Musa’s perspectives, describing nature sparely and vividly. Thirst and heat are palpable as kids and dogs fight fatal dehydration. Occasionally, Nandi narrates, in broken English more distracting than doglike.
A wrenching piece with a wisp of hope for the protagonists if not for the rest of their world. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: June 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97651-8
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
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