Vibrant young characters brighten this entertaining mix of adolescent drama and supernatural thrills.
In Dee’s middle-grade novel, a tween tries to thwart a diabolical plan with help from friends and a newfound power.
Myles Tanter has only recently discovered he can see the brightly colored “energy of everything.” Around the same time, he stumbled onto a plot involving a huge company’s soon-to-be-released ZS Phone; Myles discovered that a beta version of the smartphone had been depleting someone’s life force. Now, he and his pals head to the Mantil Corporation’s LA facility, where millions of these devices are being produced, to try to prevent the phone’s release. But even with Myles’ friend Ethan’s family wealth and inside knowledge (his father owns Mantil), the schoolkids can’t do much; it’s hard enough just staying ahead of the corporation’s stellar tracking skills. Myles and Ethan, along with Charlie, Sally, and possible new ally Lucy, face a challenging road ahead. In this sequel to Energy Wars: The Awakening (2025), Dee excels at grounding this supernatural tale: Myles is burdened by his dad’s perpetual negativity, and the fear of energy-zapping devices isn’t so different from concerns about real-life smartphone addiction. It’s a delight to follow these brave kids (even resident worrier Charlie) as they face seemingly impossible circumstances. There are, unfortunately, few opportunities for them to use their wits; they frequently rely instead on Ethan’s resources, a “mystery phone,” and quite a bit of luck. Still, a couple of genuine surprises pop up as this relatively short novel rolls along, especially regarding the Mantil Corporation. In the same vein, Myles, while questioning his power’s merit, eventually develops a new ability that’s more in line with the superhero he wishes to be: “Energy surged from my feet up through my head. It flowed out of my arms and legs. I was ignited in glowing rays like the sun.” The final act ramps up the action, leaving no question that the author has another installment in the works.
Vibrant young characters brighten this entertaining mix of adolescent drama and supernatural thrills.Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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