A progressively silly, retro-geeky action story for the YOLO generation.
An adventure of video games and spies.
On “Brawl-A-Thon 3000 XL” release day, Pete Watson makes a terrible discovery: His mother’s borrowed his savings, leaving him without enough cash to buy the greatest video game of all time. To raise the money, he hosts an impromptu, unsanctioned garage sale. Desperate Pete puts out his dad’s ancient game console, a CommandRoid 85. The mysterious Bug Man quickly purchases it, and Pete is all set to buy his own game. But then his dad shows up at the video game store, upset about the sold console, but before he can question Pete as to its whereabouts, he is abducted by suit-clad goons. Shortly after this, the president of the United States holds a press conference, spouting gibberish. To find out how the president, his father and the CommandRoid are connected, Pete reunites with ex–best friend Wesley and Wesley’s sister, Callie. They’ve been on the outs since he catastrophically mishandled her discovery of his crush on her. Of course, by the time the conspiracy is unraveled, the only way to save the world is for Pete to win an epic, multilevel video game boss battle. The illustrations range from cartoons to heavily pixelated images, suited to the pseudo-multimedia book’s hilarious references to the special features the digital edition will have.
A progressively silly, retro-geeky action story for the YOLO generation. (Science fiction. 8-14)Pub Date: March 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-15756-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
This delightful debut welcomes readers in like a house filled with love.
A 13-year-old biracial girl longs to build the house of her dreams.
For Lou Bulosan-Nelson, normal is her “gigantic extended family squished into Lola’s for every holiday imaginable.” She shares a bedroom with her Filipina mother, Minda—a former interior-design major and current nurse-to-be—in Lola Celina’s San Francisco home. From her deceased white father, Michael, Lou inherited “not-so-Filipino features,” his love for architecture, and some land. Lou’s quietude implies her keen eye for details, but her passion for creating with her hands resonates loudly. Pining for something to claim as her own, she plans to construct a house from the ground up. When her mom considers moving out of state for a potential job and Lou’s land is at risk of being auctioned off, Lou stays resilient, gathering support from both friends and family to make her dream a reality. Respicio authentically depicts the richness of Philippine culture, incorporating Filipino language, insights into Lou’s family history, and well-crafted descriptions of customs, such as the birdlike Tinikling dance and eating kamayan style (with one’s hands), throughout. Lou’s story gives voice to Filipino youth, addressing cultural differences, the importance of bayanihan (community), and the true meaning of home.
This delightful debut welcomes readers in like a house filled with love. (Fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1794-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
A solid series starter for tinkerers and adventurers alike.
Even robot cats have a mind of their own.
All 12-year-old Canadian Lacey Chu’s ever wanted was to become a companioneer like her idol, Monica Chan, co-founder of the largest tech firm in North America, Moncha Corp., and mastermind behind the baku. Bakus, “robotic pets with all the features of a smartphone,” revolutionized society and how people interact with technology. As a companioneer, Lacey could work on bakus: designing, innovating, and building. When she receives a grant rejection from Profectus Academy of Science and Technology, a school that guarantees employment at Moncha Corp., she’s devastated. A happenstance salvaging of a mangled cat baku might just change the game. Suddenly, Lacey’s got an in with Profectus and is one step closer to her dream. Jinx, however, is not quite like the other bakus—he’s a wild cat that does things without commands. Together with Jinx, Lacey will have to navigate competitive classmates and unsettling corporate secrets. McCulloch effectively strikes a balance between worldbuilding and action. High-stakes baku battles demonstrate the emotional bond between (robotic) pet and owner. Readers will also connect to the relationships the Asian girl forges with her diverse classmates, including a rivalry with Carter (a white boy who’s the son of Moncha’s other co-founder, Eric Smith), a burgeoning crush on student Tobias, who’s black, and evolving friendships new and old. While some mysteries are solved, a cliffhanger ending raises even more for the next installment.
A solid series starter for tinkerers and adventurers alike. (Science fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8374-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
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