A strong second installment in a YA historical series that should please inquisitive and imaginative readers.
In the second volume of the action-packed Red Hand Adventures series (Rebels of the Kasbah, 2012), a trio of boys in early-20th-century Morocco team up with heroic rebel fighters to stop a bloodthirsty villain.
Teenage boys Tariq, Fez, and Aseem, as well as English tourist Margaret Owen, have been kidnapped to serve as slaves to the power-hungry Caid Ali Tamzali, but rebel leaders Malik and Sanaa storm the Caid’s casbah and free them. The Caid wants revenge, so he hires the most feared assassin in Morocco, the Black Mamba, to track the rebels down. He also hopes to build an alliance with France that will help him destroy the rebellion and become the next sultan. Tariq, Fez, and Aseem decide to spy on behalf of the rebels, but along the way, they encounter various obstacles. Back in England, Margaret finds it hard to readjust to the rigid rules of her country’s stuffy social hierarchy, particularly after witnessing horrible things during her brief time as a slave. Meanwhile, Margaret’s missing father lives a secret life as a Robin Hood–esque pirate alongside the good-hearted Capt. Basil, but both are unaware that there may be a traitor in their midst. It’s fortunate that O’Neill includes a character list at the start of the story; the already large cast keeps expanding, and it can be hard to keep track of who’s who. The author also doesn’t skimp on details, packing every page with vividly drawn scenes that take readers to a mysterious circus in the Australian Outback (“Two clowns juggled knives back and forth, and a really short little man practiced every manner of somersault”), an island inhabited by French anarchists who worship Napoleon, an uptight English girls’ school, and the dangerous, bustling streets of Tangier. Young readers will enjoy reading about exotic cultures that they may not have heard about in history class, although they will need strong stomachs to handle some of the graphic violence that liberally, albeit realistically, peppers the story.
A strong second installment in a YA historical series that should please inquisitive and imaginative readers.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0985196967
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Black Ship Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series.
An orphaned street urchin is recruited into an elite school for thieves.
In an alternate world where France is the dominant world power, 13-year-old Tom Morgan has had to scrimp, starve, and steal on the streets of London to survive. Born into a workhouse, he doesn’t know anything about his father, while his mother may have been from North Africa. One thing he does know is the sort of cruelty that awaits the poor who are sent to the workhouse, and he’s determined not to go back. But when their camp is raided and his friends are captured by workhouse agents, the only thing Tom can think of is how to get them out. Enter the Corsair, a cunning and mysterious man with a proposition: He wants to recruit Tom into Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts. From nabbing treasures to forging identity papers, Beaufort’s promises to teach Tom everything he needs to know to become a Shadow Thief and a member of the Shadow League, the secret global organization that helps keep the world’s political power in balance. But Beaufort’s has its own rules and secrets, and if Tom is to survive long enough to help his friends, he’ll need to figure them out quickly. Clever and gripping, this fast-paced boarding school story will appeal to fans of the Mysterious Benedict Society and Spy School series.
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series. (Adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781665982283
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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