Monstrous but with a wink.
A human child in England helps the undead and supernatural creatures who raised her confront a threat to all organized monsterdom.
As if a sour new head teacher who seems bent on forcing her expulsion isn’t trouble enough for light-skinned, redheaded 10-year-old Theodora, the sudden arrival of imperious Inspector Mary Shelley and sneering Ratsputin, her snake-tailed rodent sidekick, cranks up the tension at home—otherwise known as the London branch of the Monstrous League of Monsters. Kopy populates her work with a variety of creatures, from motherly Mummy the mummy and house dad Dracula to Sherman the talking tarantula, Goldie the giant human-headed cobra, and gargoyles named Bob and Sally. In keeping with the light overall tone, Theodora is perfectly at ease among all the creepy characters, and in Jevons’ many black-and-white illustrations they look more cartoonish than frightening. The humor even takes a sly turn when Goldie hints at the precise kind of monster that Shelley is with the observation that, while not all monsters are authors, the opposite may not be true. Proving that she is as capable of tackling an evil home invader with keen martial arts moves as she is organizing a festive Halloween fair for the community, Mummy is the hero of this second series entry. But Theodora joins Dexter, her Nigerian British classmate who has a stutter, and others in a successful act of civil disobedience at school, offering her a chance to shine, too.
Monstrous but with a wink. (Paranormal mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9781665906869
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Contagiously goofy and fun.
Area 51 gets its first new resident in 5 years—and a new mystery.
When her grandma moves into a kid-free retirement home, 12-year-old orphan Priya “Sky” Patel-Baum and Spike, her pet hedgehog, relocate to Area 51 to live with Sky’s eccentric Uncle Anish. At 51, humans and Break Throughs (government-speak for aliens) live together off-grid in harmony. Unfortunately, several Zdstrammars (one of many Break Through species) mysteriously disappear, disrupting the base’s harmony and contributing to feelings of suspicion. Despite being deputy head of the Federal Bureau of Alien Investigations, Uncle Anish becomes a prime suspect. Can Sky and Elvis, her alien classmate, prove Uncle Anish’s innocence and find the missing Zdstrammars before it’s too late? YA author Buxbaum’s middle-grade debut is a rip-roaring series opener complete with over-the-top characters and jokes galore. Naidu’s black-and-white cartoon illustrations extend the comedy with ongoing commentary that smartly interacts with the prose. The cast of Break Through species—like Audiotooters, Galzorian, and Sanitizoria—have hilariously creative on-the-nose names with illustrations to match. Sky is coded biracial, with a White dad and Indian mom. Aliens appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors; Elvis shape-shifts but looks like a brown-skinned boy to Sky. Though the main mystery is neatly wrapped up, the cliffhanger ending promises more laughs.
Contagiously goofy and fun. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-42946-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans.
Only children, rejoice! A cozy mystery just for you! (People with siblings will probably enjoy it too.)
Debut novelist Cornett introduces the One and Onlys, a trio of mystery-solving only kids: Gloria Longshanks “Shanks” Hill, Alexander “Peephole” Calloway, and narrator Paul (alas, no nickname) Marconi. The trio has a knack for finding and solving low-level mysteries, but they come up against a true head-scratcher when the yard of a resident of their small town is covered in rubber ducks overnight. Working ahead of Officer Portnoy, who’s a little on the slow side, can Paul, Shanks, and Peephole solve the mystery? Cornett has a lot of fun with this adventure, dropping additional side mysteries, a subplot about small businesses, big corporations, and economics, and a town’s love of bratwurst into the mix. Most importantly, he plays fair with the clues throughout, allowing astute readers to potentially solve the case ahead of the trio. The tone and mystery are perfect for younger readers who want to test their detective skills but are put off by anything scary or gory. The pacing would serve well for chapter-by-chapter read-alouds. If there are any quibbles, it’s the lack of diversity of the cast, as it defaults white. Diversity exists in small towns, and this one is crying out for more. Hopefully a sequel will introduce additional faces.
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-3003-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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