A laudable, quick-witted, and savvy tween hero distinguishes this entertaining ghost story.
A girl with disabilities may be the only one who can save her school from a demon in Rose’s supernatural middle-grade novel.
Vera Warden wants to make the best impression on her first day at Morton Academy of Technology in New York. Attending the private school on a scholarship sets the 12-year-old apart from most of her peers, who come from wealthy families. But she’s also seen as different due to her disabilities: Craniofacial difference has given her an asymmetrical face, and she relies on a wheelchair as a result of her osteogenesis imperfecta type 1. While bullies can be cruel, Vera is more worried about the strange entity she spots on campus. She’s seen ghosts before, but she’s convinced this “inky” figure is, in fact, a demon. This diabolical being offers certain students, including Vera, “perfect” looks and perfect lives in exchange for their faces as part of its plan to escape its realm and enter the real world. Sadly, not everyone rejects its offer as Vera does, and she resolves to stop the fiendish plan before it’s too late. The author’s adolescent hero is nothing short of marvelous: She’s charming, accomplished, and funny (“Wasn’t being afraid of the dark enough? But no. Now I had to be scared of demons”). Some of Vera’s dilemmas are specific to her disabilities (such as a callously unaccommodating teacher); she also encounters the kinds of difficulties that all kids face, like realizing her popular new friend may be a bully to others. These relatable troubles persist even as horror seeps into the narrative, as the demon’s offer stirs up anxiety about so-called beauty standards. Some genuinely unnerving (albeit family-friendly) spooks include the demon’s shadowy, shapeless appearance and a scene of Vera creeping into a pitch-black, cobweb-laden room. This breezy thriller launches a prospective series that, with Vera at the helm, shows a lot of promise.
A laudable, quick-witted, and savvy tween hero distinguishes this entertaining ghost story.Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9780996602525
Page Count: 175
Publisher: Pleadine Books
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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