A classic good-vs.-evil story set in a world ripe with opportunity for creative expansion.
In her debut novel, Hodgson invents a universe where nearly every star in the solar system contains life.
Teenage siblings Stella and Isaac lead a normal, if isolated, childhood on Earth. But after their parents’ sudden death, they learn that their mother and father were powerful royalty of the Zodiacs, the 12 constellations surrounding the sun. Stella and Isaac were raised in hiding after the evil Gershon overthrew the Zodiacs’ true rulers. (Their parents knew Gershon would never look for them on Earth, a place considered insignificant based on the low intelligence of its inhabitants.) Now, only Stella and Isaac possess the special skills to overthrow the vindictive regime and reclaim their rightful throne. While Isaac takes on the role of intrepid hero, Stella struggles with the circumstances: She lacks self-confidence and doesn’t believe she’s capable of saving the world. The characters’ feelings, spanning from incredulous to inquisitive to enlivened, are refreshingly believable within the book’s wholly fantastical setting. Despite their grief and naiveté, both teens prove to be natural leaders as they vow to avenge their parents’ deaths and to rescue the oppressed Zodians. But young Stella and Isaac don’t have to battle Gershon and his followers alone; winged horses from the Pegasus constellation volunteer to aid, as do dragons from Draco. Though they eventually face off with Gershon, Stella and Isaac spend the majority of the book practicing their powers—including an ability to travel as “Shooting Stars” from star to star—and learning the basics about the universe that is new to them, in preparation for a battle yet to come. There’s much that Hodgson can develop in future installments, and readers will be eager to learn more about this magical world.
A classic good-vs.-evil story set in a world ripe with opportunity for creative expansion.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2012
ISBN: 978-1469931616
Page Count: 308
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In her first children's book, Parton (the country music star) turns one of her songs into a saccharine tale about a girl who is so poor that her mama has to sew her a patchwork coat when the weather turns cold. (Joseph and his coat of many colors are mentioned but never explained.) Despite the girl's love for her coat, she is teased in school, which she counters by trying to explain to her classmates ``that one is only poor/if they choose to be.'' The logic here is as flawed as the grammar, and Sutton's illustrations, while competent, show a well-dressed, happy rural family who look anything but poor. The text is both clumsy and irrelevent (it ends with ``Through life I've remained happy/and good luck is on my side./I have everything that anyone/could ever want from life.'') An apparently autobiographical song that has a hard time standing on its own as a compelling children's story. (Picture book. All ages)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1994
ISBN: 0-06-023413-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
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Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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