An artfully crafted adventure that’s equal parts thought-provoking and thrilling.
Scientists hide a secret aboard a ship headed for the farthest reaches of the Earth in the hopes of saving a remnant of modern technology and knowledge from the Anti-Machinists, a group of zealots determined to throw the world into another Dark Age.
The crew of the Oyster is entrusted with guarding the hidden treasure until the crisis is over. But after 300 years and a shipboard civil war that has destroyed all record of their original mission, the only memory of their charge is a vague hope that a sleeping captain will awake and save them when their need is great. Time and war have divided the crew into reluctantly interdependent factions, but the 12-year-old orphan Petrel belongs to no tribe. When she sees a boy stranded on the ice, her loneliness prompts her to seek his rescue. Unfortunately the boy is not the innocent he seems. This new trilogy will bait readers with its intriguing premise, hook them with its starkly beautiful setting, and reel them in with its fascinating characters. While others look toward the revival of technology to save them, Petrel’s humanity in the face of brutal ideology makes her the perfect heroine. Two talking ship’s rats make splendid companions for Petrel; Tanner’s knack with vivid names and textured dialect help to complete the intriguing worldbuilding.
An artfully crafted adventure that’s equal parts thought-provoking and thrilling. (character list) (Science fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-05216-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Echoes of Peter Pan notwithstanding, a less-than-seaworthy outing.
Endowed with the trappings of a comedic pirate yarn but not its heart, this series opener focuses more on one character’s soul-searching than nautical action.
Hardly has sheltered young “Old Worlder” Jem arrived on tropical islands believed to be haunted by the ghosts of exterminated natives than he is kidnapped by genteel pirates led by a grandiose pipsqueak. He is then rescued by the Lost Souls—an unwashed crew of orphans and runaways (all 13 or younger) sailing the supposed ghost ship Margaret’s Hop (the terminal “e” having been lost in the past) under the command of fiery but insecure Capt. Scarlet McCray. Guided by a map that belonged to his vanished uncle and pursued by the aforementioned pirates, Jem and the Lost Souls set out to find a fabled treasure. The search, however, proves little more than a vehicle for Scarlet’s continual second-guessing as she frets about being a proper, “captainly” leader and struggles to keep the Lost Souls entertained and a rebellious crew member in line. In the wake of numerous contrived obstacles overcome, the sudden re-emergence of Scarlet’s suppressed awareness that she’s half-Islander serves as a more sharply felt (if, at least for readers, not particularly cogent) climax than the discovery of the “treasure.” This turns out to be a glade so mystically peaceful that the fact that it’s surrounded by birds’ nests full of rubies comes across as just a nice added feature.
Echoes of Peter Pan notwithstanding, a less-than-seaworthy outing. (map, glossary) (Adventure. 10-12)Pub Date: July 5, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-448-45776-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2012
Surprises abound: Most threads are wrapped up, but there is room left for other books with these diverting characters.
From the very first line (“We've only got two weeks before Jake has to turn into a monster for the first time”) to the riveting ending, this fantasy will have readers turning pages recklessly.
Jake, son and grandson of men who disappeared without explanation, becomes enmeshed in the family mysteries when his (informally) adopted baby brother turns into a charming, fuzzy green monster. Jake and his sidekick “Weird Lily” Cawker leave our Earth and land in the world of Always October, where it is ever autumn, the landscape holds many dangers, and monsters reign over all. Their quest: Save both Earth and Almost October from a deranged monster. Documented in alternate chapters by Lily and Jake—which allows each one to end in a cliffhanger—the journey is exciting and moves along at a fine pace. Bursting with enticing characters and building tension, this book has everything a reader could want—breathtaking suspense, monstrously entertaining worldbuilding and lots of “punny” and burp-and-fart humor.
Surprises abound: Most threads are wrapped up, but there is room left for other books with these diverting characters. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-089095-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
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