A frothy, occasionally scattered series starter to introduce the wide, entertaining mythological world.
Norse mythology is rewoven into a boarding school story starring the Vanir “girlgoddess of love and beauty,” Freya.
Freya’s unhappy about transferring away from her school and friends in Vanaheim to Odin’s new Asgard Academy, to which he’s summoning chosen students from all nine worlds on Yggdrasil. Freya’s special magic involves prophecies given by Brising, her jewel—which she drops and loses during the arrival chaos. She’s also uncomfortable because Vanaheim and Asgard were recently at war, a war supposedly caused by her missing nanny, Gullveig, and which has left Asgard’s wall destroyed. There is a lot going on. Prankster Loki exploits Mason, a fellow student who has a crush on Freya, by peer-pressuring Freya into a bet: If scrawny Mason rebuilds the wall in three days without help, Freya will give Mason her heart, the sun, and the moon. But Mason has some tricks up his sleeves. When not in class or sneaking off to recover Brising from dwarves, Freya’s overcoming suspicions and making friends with kids from other worlds, especially her Aesir roommates, and she learns that her true gift is friendship. (In one puntastic storyline the girls brainstorm a name for their group before landing on the series title, Thunder Girls.) Peacemaking is important, both between Gullveig and Odin and between Freya and Mason. The book assumes a white default.
A frothy, occasionally scattered series starter to introduce the wide, entertaining mythological world. (authors’ note, further reading) (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4814-9640-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Quirky and imaginative—postmodern storytelling at its best.
Friendly curiosity and a gift for naming earn a polar bear an assortment of (mostly animal) friends, adventures, mishaps, and discoveries.
Arriving at a northern ocean, Duane spies a shipwreck. Swimming out to investigate, he meets its lone occupant, C.C., a learned snowy owl whose noble goal is acquiring knowledge to apply “toward the benefit of all.” Informing Duane that he’s a polar bear, she points out a nearby cave that might suit him—it even has a mattress. Adding furnishings from the wreck—the grandfather clock’s handless, but who needs to tell time when it’s always now?—he meets a self-involved musk ox, entranced by his own reflection, who’s delighted when Duane names him “Handsome.” As he comes to understand, then appreciate their considerable diversity, Duane brings out the best in his new friends. C.C., who has difficulty reading emotions and dislikes being touched, evokes the autism spectrum. Magic, a bouncy, impulsive arctic fox, manifests ADHD. Major Puff, whose proud puffin ancestry involves courageous retreats from danger, finds a perfect companion in Twitch, a risk-aware, common-sensical hare. As illustrated, Sun Girl, a human child, appears vaguely Native, and Squint, a painter, white, but they’re sui generis: The Canadian author avoids referencing human culture. The art conveys warmth in an icy setting; animal characters suggest beloved stuffed toys, gently reinforcing the message that friendship founded on tolerance breeds comfort and safety.
Quirky and imaginative—postmodern storytelling at its best. (Animal fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3341-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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