This is one trilogy that ends on a high note.
Charlie Laird faces off against ICK and INK in the finale of the Nightmares! trilogy.
Charlie and his friends foiled ICK and INK’s plot involving the Tranquility Tonic (The Sleepwalker Tonic, 2015), but many mysteries remain. What is ICK and INK’s endgame? Why is INK suddenly enrolled in Charlie’s school? And will Charlie finally work up the courage to ask Paige out? All is answered in this final volume, which returns to the standard set by series opener Nightmares! (2014). The authors delight in turning bread crumbs dropped in prior entries into full-on sandwiches; ICK and INK are compelling antagonists, fully realized and just as emotionally complex as the heroes. Charlie’s relationships with his brother and stepmother deepen, but unfortunately his relationship with Paige stays in neutral. While it’s hard to fault Charlie for focusing on the danger the world is facing rather than his love life, fans who’ve watched these two kids dance around each other for three years now will get a bit fidgety. This is a testament to the authors’ achievement in crafting smart, funny, and empathetic heroes and villains that anchor this trilogy in an emotional reality few middle-grade series achieve. The Netherworld is filled with imaginative creatures and critters, the humor remains silly and fun, and the characters (somewhat diverse, judging by the cover, though Charlie is white) remain engaging.
This is one trilogy that ends on a high note. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2016
ISBN: 9780385744256
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
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