by Justin Larocca Hansen ; illustrated by Justin Larocca Hansen ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2018
An interestingly unconventional amalgamation of tropes and genre.
In this trilogy closer, two superhero brothers and their magical friends face their nefarious foe for the ultimate battle.
Jumping right in where middle volume In the Trenches (2017) concluded, brothers Tucker and Hudson—also known as the magically enhanced superheroes Stretch and Brella—are breathing a bit easier after defeating their evil teacher Mr. Motstander. Unfortunately, their small island home does not stay quiet for long, and the brothers soon discover that their adversary has persisted. Motstander seeks to destroy the brothers’ reputations, exploiting the fickleness of public favor in the age of social media. With the help of their friends who possess their own magically imbued objects, the motley crew gears up for what can only be a battle to the death. Genre constraints are thoroughly smashed as this nontraditional superhero tale weaves a quirky pastiche of time travel, light romance, and fantasy. Brothers Tuck and Hudson are white, while secondary characters offer some diversity both racially and in terms of disability; shallow development among these characters is particularly frustrating. Hansen’s bold line-and-wash illustrations easily transition from world to world, whether he is evincing the boys’ small island community, prehistoric scenes of rampaging dinosaurs, or a fantastic, medieval-ish landscape populated by dragons. Though this volume declares itself the conclusion, the end hints at more adventures to come.
An interestingly unconventional amalgamation of tropes and genre. (Graphic adventure. 9-12)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8037-4096-9
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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by Justin Larocca Hansen ; illustrated by Justin Larocca Hansen
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by Justin Larocca Hansen ; illustrated by Justin Larocca Hansen
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 15, 2013
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride.
Zipping back and forth in time atop outsized robo–bell bottoms, mad inventor Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) legs his way to center stage in this slightly less-labored continuation of episode 9.
The action commences after a rambling recap and a warning not to laugh or smile on pain of being forced to read Sarah Plain and Tall. Pilkey first sends his peevish protagonist back a short while to save the Earth (destroyed in the previous episode), then on to various prehistoric eras in pursuit of George, Harold and the Captain. It’s all pretty much an excuse for many butt jokes, dashes of off-color humor (“Tippy pressed the button on his Freezy-Beam 4000, causing it to rise from the depths of his Robo-Pants”), a lengthy wordless comic and two tussles in “Flip-o-rama.” Still, the chase kicks off an ice age, the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Big Bang (here the Big “Ka-Bloosh!”). It ends with a harrowing glimpse of what George and Harold would become if they decided to go straight. The author also chucks in a poopy-doo-doo song with musical notation (credited to Albert P. Einstein) and plenty of ink-and-wash cartoon illustrations to crank up the ongoing frenzy.
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-17536-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
BOOK REVIEW
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi
by K.R. Alexander ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 7, 2022
Thrills galore for gamers willing to go along for the ride.
A new virtual-reality theme park goes haywire on a crowd of young victims, er, visitors in Alexander’s latest screamfest.
Having scored one of just 100 coveted preview tickets to a cutting-edge, kids-only venue dubbed ESCAPE, budding amusement park fan and designer Cody Baxter is looking forward to a life-changing experience. What he gets is more of a life-threatening one, as games and rides with names like Triassic Terror and Haunted Hillside not only pit him against a monster and then zombies—or sometimes a monster and zombies—as well as ruthless competing players, but seem tailored to play on individual personal terrors. And, in some never explained way, the VR quickly turns into real battles that inflict real wounds even as the real settings shift with sudden, dizzying unpredictability. Teaming up with loyal new friends Jayson Torn and Inga Andersdottir, the former described as being Japanese and White and the latter as Norwegian, Cody (who seems to default to White) struggles for survival, learning ultimately that ESCAPE was created by an evil genius with an ulterior motive who is convinced that he can teach children a salutary lesson. The plot’s no more logical in its twists and contrivances than the premise, but the author’s knack for spinning out nightmarish situations is definitely on display here as the tale careens toward a properly lurid outcome.
Thrills galore for gamers willing to go along for the ride. (Light horror. 9-12)Pub Date: June 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-26047-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2022
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