A promising premise is squandered in this series opener.
A 13-year-old is invited to a school for animal shape-shifting woodwalkers.
In this tale set in Wyoming, the first of a new series, Carag has been raised mostly puma, as his family distrusts and dislikes humans. But after one outing in his human form, Carag’s curiosity overwhelms him, and he decides to leave his family and try out human life. Between school bullies and foster siblings, living as a human isn’t what he imagined, but soon he’s approached by other animal shape-shifters who invite him to a special boarding school for woodwalkers. Also pushing him to go is Andrew, a wealthy, powerful man who reveals himself to be a fellow puma woodwalker—a sinister, dog-kicking type whose friendly overtures unnerve Carag. While the setup is intriguing, the school features cardboard characters and stock plots: Carag goes up against a wolf pack that bullies the “prey” animals, befriends a plucky group of misfits, and falls for the unobtainable girl who happens to be the daughter of the bully teacher. Aside from the additions of animals, readers will likely experience plot déjà vu from other books that did it better. Aside from one late action sequence, the book fails to establish stakes—the Andrew subplot is especially vague. The text, translated from German, is generally smooth, with only the rare odd word choice that would give young readers pause. Black-and-white artwork of Carag in puma form is interspersed. When human, Carag presents as White, as do most side characters; some are Indigenous.
A promising premise is squandered in this series opener. (Fantasy. 8-13)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-64690-020-6
Page Count: 235
Publisher: Arctis Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Unforgettably quirky, fast-paced fun.
In a race against their enemies, the Porch girls must find a peculiar pearl in order to foil a fiendish plot.
After defeating a monstrous Kyrgalops in The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science (2024), Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee Porch find themselves (after a series of madcap events) at Lake Kagloopy’s Purple Pearl Hotel with their mentor, Millicent Quibb. Quibb informs the trio that they must find the titular pearl before the members of their evil mad-scientist rivals, the KRA, do. If they fail, the KRA (whose members include the malevolent mayor, Majestina DeWeen, and her slimy sycophantic lawyer, Ashley Cookie) plans to use the gem to bestow the Gift of Endless Vibrancy on the villainous Talon Sharktūth. Hilarity ensues as the Porches attend the annual Shrimp Ball, encounter Umbrella Turkeys, search for Cloudite (floating cloud rocks), and don invisible but smelly woolen coats. Jokes aside, the girls’ story is intriguing, offering more clues to their mysterious backgrounds and tantalizing tidbits promising later adventures. McKinnon offers bountiful backstory (alongside a running joke to encourage readers to pick up the preceding volume) and enough guffaw-inducing jokes, zany footnotes, and creative jargon to enthrall readers both new and old with her delightful sophomore effort. Mixing humor, found family, and well-wrought worldbuilding, this sequel is a certain crowd pleaser. Final art not seen; in the previous book, the grayscale illustrations showed the girls with varying skin tones.
Unforgettably quirky, fast-paced fun. (appendices) (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9780316555296
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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