Like comfort food for book lovers.
A 13-year-old boy discovers the magic of books in this enjoyable yet familiar coming-of-age tale from renowned Mexican author Villoro.
Summer begins for Juan with the terrible news of his parents’ separation. Instead of looking forward to fun times with his best friend, Juan must now pass his summer holidays with his eccentric uncle Tito, a reclusive man devoted to his vast library. When Uncle Tito names him a Lector Princeps, a reader with a powerful connection to books, Juan plunges deep into his uncle’s “labyrinth of books,” classified into distinct, enigmatic sections such as “Cheeses That Stink But Taste Delicious” and “Marmalade Is Not Money.” Framed in the past tense, with an older Juan recollecting his adventure as a lad, Villoro’s novel packs gentle wit in a minor saga. As Juan encounters books that move on their own, books that are allies, and even books that steal the contents of other books, his uncle recruits him into a search for The Wild Book, a mysterious book that eludes all readers. To find it Juan gets help from Catalina, a girl who literally leaves Juan tongue-tied. The author offers a narrative arc as traditional and archetypical as its characters, but some readers may find Juan’s adventure welcoming on its own merits. Plus, that the author and protagonist share a name adds a neat (if underutilized) wrinkle to this novel.
Like comfort food for book lovers. (Magical realism. 10-14)Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63206-147-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Yonder
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
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Fast-paced dragon flights and mid-space fights—plus underdog heroes who are easy to root for.
A tenacious 13-year-old battles to save Mars, the only home he knows, in this series opener.
Lunar Jones, called “Dad” by the other orphans at the understaffed, underfunded Martian Relocation Clinic, is a scrapper in the dying Mars settlement, which is ironically named Harvest. Although the atmosphere supports human life, Martian plants, animals, and weather pose threats to survival, and the salvagers risk their lives with every expedition. A century ago, people killed Ares, Mars’ King-Dragon, hoping to make the planet “a paradise. A second version of Earth.” But that plan backfired. After a bloody attack by a rival salvage group, Lunar regains consciousness in an underground bunker, under the care of Gen. John Poppy, who’s secretly rearing a dragon named Dread. Poppy has rallied a group of young people with assorted special skills. Soon Dread will choose his dragoon, the human he bonds with for life. In the world of the story, which is reminiscent of Mad Max and Star Trek, each celestial body has its own dragon avatar. The backstory is fairly well developed, and the short chapters are packed with action. Lunar and some other key characters show positive growth, while the minor characters feel more like types. Lunar presents white; there’s some diversity in race among the supporting cast.
Fast-paced dragon flights and mid-space fights—plus underdog heroes who are easy to root for. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665946513
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
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