by L.D. Lapinski ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 31, 2021
Fantastic, from start to (the zinger of a) finish.
Flick Hudson and Jonathan Mercator are back, responding to another crisis of magic in the multiverse.
Flick hasn’t been in the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, where members travel between worlds via suitcase, since the adventure that revealed her uncommon powers—and kept her out overnight, to her parents’ dismay. Fortunately, college student Jonathan, Strangeworlds’ custodian since the disappearance of his father, sweet-talks Flick’s mother—and just in time, as a letter from a watery world of mer-folk and pirates alerts them to an emergency. The two of them, plus Jonathan’s cousin Avery, who is visiting from her own world, set off to help. These books, like Jonathan himself, are both firmly old-fashioned and thoroughly modern. Flick helps navigate tense politics, pushes herself to face new challenges (both magical and practical), and reflects on the ways in which her world is inclined to waste and pollution; all of this flows naturally from her character, because Flick—like many readers—has worries about family, finances, and the state of the planet. Meanwhile, a larger mystery continues to simmer. Jonathan is cued as queer, while Flick and Avery navigate a mutual attraction, elements that are woven seamlessly into the story. There are limited physical descriptions; Avery has black hair and light brown skin.
Fantastic, from start to (the zinger of a) finish. (map) (Fantasy. 9-14)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8354-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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by Elinor Teele ; illustrated by Ben Whitehouse ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2016
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish.
The dreary prospect of spending a lifetime making caskets instead of wonderful inventions prompts a young orphan to snatch up his little sister and flee. Where? To the circus, of course.
Fortunately or otherwise, John and 6-year-old Page join up with Boz—sometime human cannonball for the seedy Wandering Wayfarers and a “vertically challenged” trickster with a fantastic gift for sowing chaos. Alas, the budding engineer barely has time to settle in to begin work on an experimental circus wagon powered by chicken poop and dubbed (with questionable forethought) the Autopsy. The hot pursuit of malign and indomitable Great-Aunt Beauregard, the Coggins’ only living relative, forces all three to leave the troupe for further flights and misadventures. Teele spins her adventure around a sturdy protagonist whose love for his little sister is matched only by his fierce desire for something better in life for them both and tucks in an outstanding supporting cast featuring several notably strong-minded, independent women (Page, whose glare “would kill spiders dead,” not least among them). Better yet, in Boz she has created a scene-stealing force of nature, a free spirit who’s never happier than when he’s stirring up mischief. A climactic clutch culminating in a magnificently destructive display of fireworks leaves the Coggin sibs well-positioned for bright futures. (Illustrations not seen.)
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish. (Adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234510-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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by T.P. Jagger ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 4, 2022
A snappy mystery that’s full of heart.
A group of bright friends tackles the puzzle of their lives.
Elmwood, New Hampshire, 11-year-old Gina Sparks is small in stature but big on reporting ongoing dramas for the local newspaper with support from her journalist mom. When an unbelievable scoop comes her way, Gina must rely on her tightknit crew of sixth grade best friends whose initials happen to spell GEEK, a label they choose to proudly reclaim. She and science-minded prankster Elena Hernández, theater kid Edgar Feingarten, and driven math genius Kevin Robinson decide to get to the bottom of things when they learn that the Van Houten Toy & Game Company heir made elaborate plans to leave everything to the town of Elmwood before her death—but only if a member of the community could solve an intricate multistep puzzle. Gina hopes that deciphering the clues and finding the missing fortune will be just the thing to revitalize the down-on-its-luck town and bring the Elmwood Tribune back into the black, saving her mom’s job and Gina’s passion project. The GEEKs work together, using their individual talents and deductive reasoning skills to unravel the mystery. Infused with media literacy pointers, such as the difference between fact and opinion and reminders to avoid bias when reporting, the story encourages readers to think critically. Gina and Edgar read as White; Elena is cued as Latinx, and Kevin is implied Black.
A snappy mystery that’s full of heart. (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37793-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
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