Rolling Hills is a boring, little hick town…until sundown.
Tenth-grader Charlie Harker leaves his expensive boarding school with visions of a summer break spent in Hawaii dancing in his head. He’s crushed when his mother tells him that she, his twin sister, Lilith, and Charlie will be rehabbing an old family manse into a bed-and-breakfast instead. He’s mortified to learn the family fortune—estranged Dad was a Tony Robbins–style self-help guru—is completely gone. Moments after waking in the driveway of the inn (after a monumental nap on the drive), Charlie is set upon by his shotgun-toting, deaf uncle Hal and local conspiracy theorist Miles Van Helsing. Trying at every turn to dodge actual work at the inn, even after the arrival of his TV-star brother, Johnny, Charlie is drawn into Miles’ investigation of strange happenings at the neighbor’s house. When the threat proves to be real, Charlie finds the only recourse is to run…but can he run fast enough? Leck’s sarcastic thriller features a distinctive monster that’s a fun twist on zombies…er…vampires. Given the final scene, a sequel is likely but not necessary. Scenes of Charlie and Co. fleeing “zompires” feels a bit like repetitive padding near the deus ex machina close, but Charlie’s snarky narration and skewed outlook make this a solid choice.
A great light read for graduates of John Kloepfer’s The Zombie Chasers (2010). (Horror. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-77138-110-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S MYSTERY & THRILLER
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A riveting novel that will have readers rooting for its star.
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A teenager faces seemingly insurmountable challenges in this riveting modern-day spinoff of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
For Ana Dakkar and her fellow ninth graders at Harding-Pencroft Academy, there is nothing more momentous than the weekend trials each student must ace at the end of freshman year. Students who fail to showcase their survival skills are asked to leave the academy, a heavily guarded place Ana has thought of as home since the mysterious deaths of her parents. Though Ana’s brother, Dev, is a senior, what happens at trials is such a closely guarded secret that no one in her year knows what to expect. While her group is out on the water for their trials, Harding-Pencroft is demolished in an attack orchestrated by a rival school. As Ana and her classmates discover that the events depicted in Jules Verne’s classic novels were real, Riordan’s lifelong love of the source material is clear—especially when Ana learns information that will help her find a way to protect the group. A foreword by Roshani Chokshi introduces this adventure that is both great entertainment and centers a well-developed protagonist who is thoughtfully shown dealing with loss. Ana is of Bundeli Indian descent, and her group of peers, who are diverse in various ways, experience losses and struggles of their own. (Final illustrations not seen.)
A riveting novel that will have readers rooting for its star. (Harding-Pencroft Academy guide, cast list) (Adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-368-07792-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
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Three young ghost trappers take on deadly wraiths and solve an old murder case in the bargain to kick off Stroud’s new post-Bartimaeus series.
Narrator Lucy Carlyle hopes to put her unusual sensitivity to supernatural sounds to good use by joining Lockwood & Co.—one of several firms that have risen to cope with the serious ghost Problem that has afflicted England in recent years. As its third member, she teams with glib, ambitious Anthony Lockwood and slovenly-but-capable scholar George Cubbins to entrap malign spirits for hire. The work is fraught with peril, not only because a ghost’s merest touch is generally fatal, but also, as it turns out, as none of the three is particularly good at careful planning and preparation. All are, however, resourceful and quick on their feet, which stands them in good stead when they inadvertently set fire to a house while discovering a murder victim’s desiccated corpse. It comes in handy again when they later rashly agree to clear Combe Carey Hall, renowned for centuries of sudden deaths and regarded as one of England’s most haunted manors. Despite being well-stocked with scream-worthy ghastlies, this lively opener makes a light alternative for readers who find the likes of Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice series too grim and creepy for comfort.
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls. (Ghost adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6491-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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