Young readers will enjoy this character-driven tale’s richly imagined fantasy world.
Upton’s middle-grade series-starter takes place in a complex world of powerful, mysterious creatures.
Wren Goldsmith is a 12-year-old Beast Saver whose mission is to protect Beasts in need with the help of a Companion Beast named Tolstoy—a doglike creature who can change size at will and has fur that functions as armor. Wren is confident, skilled, quick-thinking, and eager to prove his abilities as a new Saver. The plot revolves around Wren and Tolstoy’s mission to the Pomm Islands, where formerly peaceful Beasts are going on rampages. The cause of the unrest seems to be parasites infecting the creatures, which drive them to violence. Wren must subdue a massive Beast called a coral cow, which is ordinarily a caretaker of the coral reefs. Later, the tween encounters twins Maxie and Vega, who are part of a mysterious group known as the Scavengers; they work for a larger, unknown entity that’s likely involved in illegal activity. Wren, Tolstoy, and their ally, Lieutenant Tang, investigate as they aim to restore order to the islands; however, the mystery behind who’s responsible for the chaos remains unsolved, hinting at future adventures. Overall, Upton’s story is marked by energetic pacing and action-driven plot development, and it feels well-suited for its target audience of young readers. The characterization leans heavily on familiar archetypes, with Wren as the brave hero, Tolstoy as the loyal sidekick, and the bickering twin antagonists, who embody their roles with lines such as “It’s so unfair. Just because you were born two minutes early—” The characters’ relationships are central to the narrative, and the author highlights trust and teamwork throughout. Upton’s prose style is simple yet vivid, with imaginative descriptions of Beasts and dynamic action scenes, and the dialogue snappily propels the plot forward.
Young readers will enjoy this character-driven tale’s richly imagined fantasy world.Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9798350981193
Page Count: 112
Publisher: BookBaby
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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