Younger, less-sophisticated sci-fi fans who can get past the backstory-filled opening might find this just the ticket.
When extraterrestrials impound a spaceship full of students and teachers 400 light-years from Earth, it’s up to Jack and his buddies to get them all back home.
Life on Public School Ship 118 has been hard for Jack ever since his science-teacher father was fired and kicked off, leaving him alone and outcast. It gets dramatically worse when the ship comes under attack. In the chaos, Jack’s father texts him via communicator ring with directions to save the school—but implementing them strands the entire ship in Elvidian space, where they are swiftly imprisoned. While the Earth kids are forced to attend Elvidian school and wear Elvidian contact lenses, Jack discovers that his father had been fired for tinkering with the P.S.S. 118, illicitly equipping it with the means to get them home—if only they can figure out how to get all of them back on the ship. Fortunately, the Elvidians seem to be a touch hypochondriacal and do not recognize Earth diseases….Levy’s novel, festooned with futuristic tech, is aimed at action-oriented readers, but too much telling rather than showing, especially initially, may turn them off prematurely. Repetitive details such as frequent references to Jack’s dad’s firing further bog the plot down. Jack presents white on the cover; Ari, who is Jewish, is depicted with brown skin; and Becka has light skin and long, dark hair.
Younger, less-sophisticated sci-fi fans who can get past the backstory-filled opening might find this just the ticket. (Science fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2810-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fun at (ahem) times, but readers of the opener are going to be let down by the revelation that it didn’t count.
Six months after tackling invading aliens in Finn and the Intergalactic Lunchbox (2020), young Finn now takes on a time-traveling monster at the behest of his much older self.
A jumble of clever twists and goofy set pieces that never quite coalesce into coherence, the tale sends Finn Foley and buddies Lincoln Sidana and Julep Li on a long series of short time hops to eras past and present—in some of which they participate in or watch running battles between their older selves and an armored monster named Paradox who proclaims a vague intention to destroy time, or rule the universe, or something. Meanwhile, hotly pursuing Time Rangers who dress and talk like cowboys place hastily made clones that look like the trio but act like cats in the present day to serve as stand-ins…to the consternation of Finn’s baffled but take-charge little sister, Kate. In the climactic battle, Paradox survives attacks from saber-toothed tigers and armies of Revolutionary War soldiers as well as futuristic energy weapons but unravels at last when Finn reboots the entire timeline. Unfortunately, that puts a number of significant events in the previous volume in the “never happened” category. Their surnames cue Julep and Lincoln as Asian; some Rangers are people of color, and the rest of the cast presents as White.
Fun at (ahem) times, but readers of the opener are going to be let down by the revelation that it didn’t count. (Science fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-64691-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A briskly paced, amusing fantasy adventure with light characterization.
“Life don’t bring you strawberries.”
Nine is an orphaned thiefling who roams the streets looking for easy marks to help her earn her keep with the Fagin-like gang-master, Pockets. One day, she manages to steal an ornament that is, in fact, the bewitched home of the pretentious High Wizard, Flabberghast, who’s been trapped inside and drained of his power following a spat with a witch. This confinement, along with sundry other magical inconveniences, makes life vexing for the house’s other occupants, including gentle troll housekeeper Eric and the alchemist spoon who’s aptly named Dr. Spoon. Nine agrees to help them escape in exchange for a jewel that would change her fortunes. The unlikely quartet must break the curse before the clock strikes 15—or the house will shrink until everyone within ceases to exist. Readers seeking a plot-driven story that moves at a steady clip will enjoy this work: The anthropomorphic house has an entertaining, fun-house feeling with surprises behind every door—and even magicked into doorknobs. The charming chapter-header spot-art illustrations tease events in the adventurous plot. This series opener, which works as a stand-alone, emphasizes magical elements to a point that leaves little room for the characters’ emotional arcs, rendering the team dynamic between Nine and the house’s residents feeling shaky; a supporting character’s subplot is also underdeveloped. Human characters read white.
A briskly paced, amusing fantasy adventure with light characterization. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781665971874
Page Count: 240
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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