Frustrating.
New guests bring new adventures.
In this second installment of the series, supernatural forces are still preventing siblings Willow and Ash McGinn and their parents from leaving the Exit 13 Motel. Despite their predicament, the mood lifts when a group of alien-loving convention-goers arrives. Soon the little inn is bustling, and Willow and Ash pitch in to help clerk Kristoff and handyman Mr. Do. Events take another turn when Kristoff goes missing, a creepy guest sends Willow on a harrowing chase, and Ash and the alien aficionados find themselves in an otherworldly forest. Preller’s latest has short chapters with brisk pacing; however, despite the narrative energy, more questions are raised than answered. The McGinns keep unearthing one new thing after another—possible monsters, a mysterious book, and more—but little is explained or resolved, making for an exasperating reading experience. Additionally, key worldbuilding points are stretched too thin to make sense, namely why some can come and go from the motel and others cannot. Black-and-white comic panels interspersed throughout begin to feel gimmicky, not adding depth to the shallow characterizations. The depiction of Mr. Do feels especially superficial and tokenizing; attempts to convey his Korean heritage are surface-level, and his clipped speech patterns—even in his internal monologues—seem othering. Willow and Ash are biracial; Kristoff is described as pale.
Frustrating. (Graphic hybrid. 7-12)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781338810455
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
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
Lighthearted spook with a heaping side of silliness—and hair.
Fifth graders get into a hairy situation.
After an unnamed narrator’s full-page warning, readers dive right into a Wolver Hollow classroom. Mr. Noffler recounts the town legend about how, every Oct. 19, residents don fake mustaches and lock their doors. As the story goes, the late Bockius Beauregard was vaporized in an “unfortunate black powder incident,” but, somehow, his “magnificent mustache” survived to haunt the town. Once a year, the spectral ’stache searches for an exposed upper lip to rest upon. Is it real or superstition? Students Parker and Lucas—sole members of the Midnight Owl Detective Agency—decide to take the case and solve the mustache mystery. When they find that the book of legends they need for their research has been checked out from the library, they recruit the borrower: goth classmate Samantha von Oppelstein. Will the three of them be enough to take on the mustache and resolve its ghostly, unfinished business? Whether through ridiculous plot points or over-the-top descriptions, the comedy keeps coming in this first title in McGee’s new Night Frights series. A generous font and spacing make this quick-paced, 13-chapter story appealing to newly confident readers. Skaffa’s grayscale cartoon spot (and occasional full-page) illustrations help set the tone and accentuate the action. Though neither race or skin color is described in the text, images show Lucas and Samantha as light-skinned and Parker as dark-skinned.
Lighthearted spook with a heaping side of silliness—and hair. (maps) (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8089-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
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