A sequel filled with boys-will-be-boys sensibilities.
A 13-year-old boy with an unpredictable power returns to camp for another summer of misadventures in this follow-up to Float (2018).
“Inconsistently invisible” Hank can’t wait for another summer at pricey Camp Outlier, the one place where he and other RISK kids stigmatized for their uncontrollable abilities, or Recurring Instances of the Strange Kind, can find a sense of belonging. However, his excitement turns to worry when his time-traveling friend appears in the airport bathroom with a tearful warning that Hank is going to die. To make matters worse, a YouTube heartthrob joins their cabin, stealing the center of attention from Hank and making him feel more invisible than ever. On top of that, someone is attempting to sabotage their camp. At this camp of misfits, the cast of characters is predominantly White, with race largely indicated through clumsy, stereotypical descriptors (“gingerbread-colored skin,” “almond-shaped eyes”). Hank flirts constantly with girl campers, referring to them as “ladies” and commenting on their attractiveness regardless of their interest in him, behavior in keeping with the book’s overall presentation of gender relations: “I’d had my sights set on her at the beginning of camp the summer before, but after I’d realized that Emerson did too, I’d done the gentlemanly thing and stepped back. Besides, Kristy was an intriguing challenge, and I liked intriguing challenges.” Not unlike Hank’s flirtation, the story’s lesson about technology addiction lacks subtlety and nuance.
A sequel filled with boys-will-be-boys sensibilities. (author's note) (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-313676-2
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A deceptively simple, tender tale in which respect, resilience, and hope triumph.
Generations of human and animal families grow and change, seen from the point of view of the red oak Wishing Tree that shelters them all.
Most trees are introverts at heart. So says Red, who is over 200 years old and should know. Not to mention that they have complicated relationships with humans. But this tree also has perspective on its animal friends and people who live within its purview—not just witnessing, but ultimately telling the tales of young people coming to this country alone or with family. An Irish woman named Maeve is the first, and a young 10-year-old Muslim girl named Samar is the most recent. Red becomes the repository for generations of wishes; this includes both observing Samar’s longing wish and sporting the hurtful word that another young person carves into their bark as a protest to Samar’s family’s presence. (Red is monoecious, they explain, with both male and female flowers.) Newbery medalist Applegate succeeds at interweaving an immigrant story with an animated natural world and having it all make sense. As Red observes, animals compete for resources just as humans do, and nature is not always pretty or fair or kind. This swiftly moving yet contemplative read is great for early middle grade, reluctant or tentative readers, or precocious younger students.
A deceptively simple, tender tale in which respect, resilience, and hope triumph. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-04322-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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