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THE BUTLER GETS A BREAK

Name: THE BUTLER GETS A BREAK
Author: Kristin Clark Venuti
ISBN: 978-1-60684-087-0

A BELLWEATHER TALE

by Kristin Clark Venuti ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 12, 2010

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Introduced in Leaving the Bellweathers (2009), the comically dysfunctional family is back for another outing. Benway the butler, after breaking his leg in an unfortunate accident precipitated by over-the-top ten-year-old triplets Sassy, Brick and Spike, is confined to the hospital, while Spider, 15, tries to round up the violent, endangered squirrels he inadvertently set loose on Eel-by-the-Bay, do-gooder Ninda, 14, works to aid a large group of displaced immigrants and the Bellweather parents relentlessly pursue their own interests (wall painting and inventing). All the Bellweathers recognize that they can barely get by without their staid and trusty butler, but poor Benway rarely gets the opportunity to see this, as the family blunderingly protects him from their growing, often silly, desperation. Though character development plays second fiddle to plot, return readers have gotten to know the protagonists well enough to anticipate their personal foibles. As in the first effort, the situations don’t always live up to their full potential for hilarity but will, at times, leave readers amused. (Farce. 9-13)

Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-60684-087-0

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Egmont USA

Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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RIVER OF SPIRITS

From the Underwild series , Vol. 1

by Shana Targosz ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2025

A beautiful, moving mythological adventure.

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In a world based on Greek mythology, a 12-year-old aspires to be a Ferryer of the dead but gets off track when she meets a Living girl who’s found her way into the Underworld.

All Senka knows is her existence on an island in the middle of the Acheron River, “smack between the realm of the Living and the realm of the Dead,” where she’s the ward of Charon, the Ferryer of souls. Her teacher is an enormous raven named Mortimer. After Senka, who presents white, learns the Rules for Ferryers, Charon agrees to her repeated requests and starts training her to become a Ferryer. But when an emergency leads to Senka’s being left alone, she disobeys Charon’s explicit orders, takes the boat out on her own—and quickly learns that ferrying souls is far more complicated than she realized. She encounters dark-haired, brown-skinned Poppy, whose “edges are crisp”—she’s a Living girl who will sacrifice anything to find Joey, her younger brother who died. As Senka tries to convince Poppy to return to the Shore of the Living, the two get stuck in the Underwild, a “lawless place where chaos reigns” that’s filled with innumerable dangers and shrouded in secrets. Senka’s lively first-person narration relates the unexpected friendship that forms through her shared adventures with Poppy as they face mortality and the unknown. Debut author Targosz offers readers a meaningful exploration of grief and its impact on those left behind.

A beautiful, moving mythological adventure. (Fantasy. 9-13)

Pub Date: March 25, 2025

ISBN: 9781665957632

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Aladdin

Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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CLUES TO THE UNIVERSE

by Christina Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021

Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.

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An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.

Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.

Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)