A spectacular debut.
It is 1665 London, and the streets are filled with orphans, thieves, madmen, and a few young apprentices as eager to have fun as to learn their trades.
Fourteen-year-old Christopher is luckier than most. The apothecary Master Benedict Blackthorn is both intelligent and kind, forgiving both Christopher’s mistakes as well as his ill-planned pranks. But when the Cult of the Archangel kills his master, Christopher is determined to complete his master’s work and bring the killers to justice. However, all he has for help are his friend, baker’s son Tom, and a hastily scribbled coded message from his master. This stunning and smart mystery is made even better by well-researched historical detail, intriguing characters, and genuinely funny moments. Whether accidentally shooting the shop’s taxidermed bear with his homemade gun powder or outsmarting a ruthless cult of killers, Christopher makes a terrific protagonist, but it’s his love for his friends and master as well as his fearless intellectual curiosity that make him a true hero. An epigraph sagely, if unnecessarily, warns against employing the many 17th-century remedies. While many readers will love the story, it is unlikely they will try a recipe for saltpeter that involves marinating pigeon droppings in urine—but they will revel in reciting it at dinnertime. An author’s note discusses standardized spelling and the Gregorian vs. Julian calendars.
A spectacular debut. (Historical mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4651-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
A captivating novel about a boy whose story will leave readers wanting more.
Lymon, who has music in his bones, has too many strikes against him to make growing into young adulthood easy.
Readers met Lymon as an angry bully in Cline-Ransome’s Finding Langston (2018). At the outset of this companion, the African American boy lives in 1940s Mississippi with his loving, guitar-playing grandpops and ever disgruntled grandmother, called Ma. Lymon’s flighty teen mother, Daisy, abandoned him long ago when she moved to Chicago and started another family; Grady, Lymon’s father, is incarcerated at Parchman Farm. Like Langston’s, Lymon’s distinctive rural Southern voice narrates both painful and poignant moments in a matter-of-fact way that leaves readers wondering how he can bear so much without breaking. Though likable and worthy of compassion, Lymon seems to attract negativity. When Grandpops dies and Ma sickens from diabetes, the relatives can no longer afford Lymon’s upkeep. They send him to Chicago to live with Daisy, her two sons, and her husband, Robert, who beats Lymon regularly. When Lymon steals money from Robert, the police send him to a boys’ home—where, finally, he’s allowed to come into his own. Cline-Ransome’s masterful storytelling will keep readers enthralled while teaching them about historical racial biases in the penal system, the plight of children during the Great Migration, the discrimination faced by Northern Blacks, and more.
A captivating novel about a boy whose story will leave readers wanting more. (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4442-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
A fun little adventure brimming with Disney intellectual-property synergy.
A young mouse earns her place among a secret society of world-savers.
Bernadette is a small rodent with big ambitions: joining the Mouse Watch, an elite team of mice that protect the world from evil while keeping themselves secret from humans. Bernie has long dreamed of joining her idol, Gadget Hackwrench (the female lead of Disney’s popular cartoon Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers), and going on gizmo-filled, adrenaline-fueled adventures. As a new recruit of the Watch, Bernie befriends Jarvis, a sensitive rat with puzzle-solving skills to spare. The two rodents flit from set piece to set piece, uncovering a dastardly plot concocted by the devilish Dr. Thornpaw that could turn the world upside down. Readers familiar with Rescue Rangers will find similar rhythms here: a precise blend of jokes, action, and plucky young heroes ambitious to prove themselves. The novel is smartly paced, keeping readers pushing forward but with just enough assurance that everything will turn out OK in the end. It’s a comfort read, one that tees up a sequel in its final pages and points back just enough to Rescue Rangers that young readers interested in exploring more of this world won’t be disappointed (provided their families have subscribed to Disney +).
A fun little adventure brimming with Disney intellectual-property synergy. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-368-05218-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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