There are treasures to be found deep in the woods—and in this jewel box of a book.
“Hansel and Gretel” is reinvented for the modern age in this frolicsome retelling.
This refreshed take on the Grimms’ familiar story begins deep in the woods, like many a fairy tale might, only to diverge into a story of unusual resonance for today. Greta—whose name is an explicit homage to climate activist Greta Thunberg—lives with brother Hansel, their woodcutter father, and the horrifying, goblinlike Aunt GreedyGuts in a hut in the deep dark woods. However, the father tires of destroying the forest, and he and the children opt instead to make a life that seeks sustainability. Aunt GreedyGuts, whose unquenchable appetites are destructive, sets out to destroy not only this new way of life, but also the children themselves and the true-heartedness they represent. The children are banished to the woods as in the original tale, but instead of a wicked witch and her dangerous gingerbread house, they find a modern-day remedy to unsustainable consumption. It is possible that a children’s book about sustainability would be pedantic and moralistic. But instead, this one is funny, with clever, subversive, “larger-than-life silliness,” as Winterson explains in a concluding note. Fresh dialogue draws readers in, and the story’s twists and turns yield discoveries, like a wander through the woods. Illustrations present characters as black silhouettes, Greta sporting her namesake’s distinctive braids.
There are treasures to be found deep in the woods—and in this jewel box of a book. (Picture book. 11-14)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64259-576-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Haymarket Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A thrilling conclusion to a beautifully crafted, heart-stopping trilogy.
This is the moment teens Seth, Anaya, and Petra have both been anticipating and dreading ever since aliens called cryptogens began attempting to colonize the Earth: the chance to defend their planet.
In an earlier volume, Seth, Anaya, and Petra began growing physical characteristics that made them realize they were half alien. Seth has wings, Petra has a tail, and Anaya has fur. They also have the power of telepathy, which Anaya uses to converse with Terra, a cryptogen rebel looking for human allies who could help stop the invasion of Earth. Terra plans to use a virus stored in the three teens’ bodies to disarm the flyers, which are the winged aliens that are both masterminding the invasion and enslaving the other species of cryptogens known as swimmers and runners. But Terra and her allies can’t pull any of this off without the help of Anaya, Seth, and Petra. Although the trio is anxious about their abilities, they don’t have much of a choice—the entire human race is depending on them for salvation. Like its predecessors, this trilogy closer is fast-paced and well structured. Despite its post-apocalyptic setting, the story is fundamentally character driven, and it is incredibly satisfying to watch each protagonist overcome their inner battles within the context of the larger human-alien war. Main characters read as White.
A thrilling conclusion to a beautifully crafted, heart-stopping trilogy. (Science fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984894-80-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
A few promising, even brilliant bits are lost in an ill-constructed jumble of warring plotlines and ambiguous agendas.
As fleets of hostile warships gather over a floating city, a young thief finds himself the object of an urgent manhunt.
Readers can be excused for coming away bewildered by Sheehan’s competing storylines, disconnected events, genre-bending revelations, and refusal to fit any of the major players in the all-White–presenting cast consistently into the roles of villain, ally, or even protagonist. Continually shifting through points of view and annoyingly punctuated with an omniscient narrator’s portentous commentary, the tale centers on the exploits of 12-year-old street urchin Milo Quick and his squad of juvenile ragamuffins (seemingly juvenile at any rate; one is eventually revealed to be something else entirely) in an aerial city of Dickensian squalor threatened by a multinational flying armada. Though a lot of people are after Milo, ranging from the swashbuckling crew of a flying privateer hired (ostensibly) to kidnap him and a vengeful punk bent on bloody murder to a sinister truant officer paid lavishly by mysterious parties to watch over him, he ultimately winds up—or so it seems—being no more than a red herring all along. The actual target is revealed piecemeal in conversations and flashbacks before the commencement of a climactic bombardment and an abrupt cutoff in which three side characters, miraculously shrugging off multiple knife and bullet wounds, themselves suddenly take center stage to set up a sequel.
A few promising, even brilliant bits are lost in an ill-constructed jumble of warring plotlines and ambiguous agendas. (Science fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-10951-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
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