A satisfying, moving, smashing finale with a very relevant message.
In the trilogy finale, young apothecary Raffa seeks his own way to save Obsidia’s abused animals and exiled citizens.
This sequel to Cavern of Secrets (2017) deftly introduces the timely theme of intolerance and the importance of caring about people who are different. Raffa escapes from prison in Gilden as the Chancellor banishes all inhabitants of Gilden’s slums to uninhabitable wastelands. Known as Afters because their ancestors fled to Obsidia after the Great Quake destroyed their homelands two centuries before, many of those targeted for persecution often have darker skin than Obsidia’s original “fair-skinned” settlers. Realizing he and his dark-skinned friend Kuma are both at least partly of After descent (his skin is light brown), Raffa’s incensed by the Chancellor’s unjust edict and joins an opposition group secretly evacuating Afters to the Forest of Wonders to prepare to fight. Using his apothecary skills in service of the cause, Raffa concocts temporary-acting botanical weapons and antidotes to protect affected animals. Outnumbered and unarmed, Raffa, Kuma, and assorted animal helpers (including the charismatic talking bat Echo) unite with the Afters in a harrowing standoff against the Chancellor. The thoughtful, suspenseful third-person narration focuses on the resolution of Raffa’s long quest for the moral imperative driving his life and profession. Black-and-white illustrations feature animal characters and key venues.
A satisfying, moving, smashing finale with a very relevant message. (map) (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-232744-4
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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