Uncomfortably frenetic for something so devoid of plot.
Jewish summer camp adventures get a little too goofy.
Budding director Noah is certain he’s on his way to film camp—after all, he’s been nagging his parents about it nonstop. But instead, he and his sister are shipped off to Camp Challah, where the socially awkward tween is not confident about making friends. Just before going away, Pops, Noah’s grandfather, tells him he needs Noah’s help saving the world. But the alter kocker is known for his bombastic pronouncements, so not even Noah takes him seriously until a carrier pigeon arrives with a note from Pops. Whatever anyone else expects—or doesn’t expect—of Noah, his real plan is to do what Pops says. Somehow he ends up making friends who go along for the ride, nonsensical and unclear though it is. The first half of the book takes a more realistic tone, with typical camp activities, and it’s not until halfway through that Pops reappears in the flesh to take Noah along. Not only is the pacing off, but it’s odd when the antagonist threatening the world turns out to be an asteroid—not what readers might expect from a grandfather who regularly claims to have been a secret agent during World War II. A supporting character described as part Navajo makes wartime Code Talkers less the undersung heroes they are and more another goofball plot addition.
Uncomfortably frenetic for something so devoid of plot. (Mystery/adventure. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5415-6036-9
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fourth grader P.J. brings to her first-person narration all the sophistication that a girl of her age can muster. It seems perfectly appropriate to her, for instance, that she should have a big fight with her BFF, Katie, after she finds out that even a best friend can beat you in a race. What follows will be readily recognizable to most fourth graders: lots of note-passing in class, attempts to find an instant friend replacement, unwanted parental advice, rejection by classmates and teasing from an older brother. P.J.’s voice as she relates all of these mishaps in brief chapter “lessons” is believable and often a little funny. An interview with the author that follows provides the only sour note, as she refers to her preteen daughter’s “little friends” and the problems they share. Many almost-teen readers may take issue with this condescending tone. While not an essential purchase, this quick read will appeal to those in the throes of their own jealousy-driven battles and may offer a sliver of insight into effective resolutions. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-88995-401-4
Page Count: 111
Publisher: Red Deer Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010
A visually polished print debut—with a teaser on the front flap for the app version in place of a blurb. Unsurprisingly,...
Hypercool paintings featuring alien school kids and elaborately detailed planetscapes juice up this weakly plotted tale of a young tinkerer transported to a galactic academy.
Tyler is mostly given to the sort of smarmy inventions that let him spy into his sister’s bedroom or splatter his dad with paint. Despite this, Tyler is promoted to an extremely multicultural orbiting school where he has a (sometimes literal) blast learning to use a jet pack and taking field trips to exotic planets. Cole, a digital artist with a hefty film résumé, plants an unrepentant smirk on his bright-eyed protagonist, surrounds him with heavily made-up but basically humanoid schoolmates, and places him in a series of atmospheric, dazzlingly finished high-tech or extraplanetary settings. Tyler’s overly expository first-person narration makes liberal use of exclamation points, an irritant that some readers may find mitigated by the cool sci-fi language. Readers of Mark Fearing’s Earthling! (2012), Aaron Reynolds and Andy Rash’s Superhero School (2009) and Dave Roman’s Astronaut Academy (2011) may feel a sense of déjà vu, but there’s more than enough eye candy to compensate.
A visually polished print debut—with a teaser on the front flap for the app version in place of a blurb. Unsurprisingly, also in development as a film. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-9334-9277-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Design Studio Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2012
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