A misadventure that misses the boat.
A young boy vacations on a boat full of misfits.
Growing up with a miserly father, Charlie Pennypacker has never taken a real vacation outside the staged ones in their backyard. Over time this embarrassment cost him his best friend, Gunter, who exposed his fake vacations to his classmates. After his profligate lawyer mom demands a real family trip, his father surprisingly complies, booking a Disney cruise in the Caribbean. But when they arrive it turns out not to be Disney but a “Wisney Cruise,” a worn-down fishing boat staffed by a less-than-enthusiastic staff. To Charlie’s chagrin, Gunter also appears. It turns out Charlie’s dad agreed to babysit Gunter for $30 a day. Just when it seems things can’t get worse, Charlie and Gunter witness ship’s captain Wisner narrowly escaping two men in black suits who threaten they’ll catch up to him eventually. Suspecting the mob, the former friends temporarily set aside their differences to find out Wisner’s troubles. Doan sets up a promising adventure with plenty of extreme personalities and outlandish situations. Unfortunately each player ends up defined by their quirks, disallowing any growth or a chance for readers to enjoy the humor in the situation. Charlie, his family, and the captain are illustrated as white while Gunter is biracial, with a Korean dad and (default-white) German mom.
A misadventure that misses the boat. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-15411-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The magic of reading is given a refreshingly real twist.
This is the way Pearl’s world ends: not with a bang but with a scream.
Pearl Moran was born in the Lancaster Avenue branch library and considers it more her home than the apartment she shares with her mother, the circulation librarian. When the head of the library’s beloved statue of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay is found to be missing, Pearl’s scream brings the entire neighborhood running. Thus ensues an enchanting plunge into the underbelly of a failing library and a city brimful of secrets. With the help of friends old, uncertainly developing, and new, Pearl must spin story after compelling story in hopes of saving what she loves most. Indeed, that love—of libraries, of books, and most of all of stories—suffuses the entire narrative. Literary references are peppered throughout (clarified with somewhat superfluous footnotes) in addition to a variety of tangential sidebars (the identity of whose writer becomes delightfully clear later on). Pearl is an odd but genuine narrator, possessed of a complex and emotional inner voice warring with a stridently stubborn outer one. An array of endearing supporting characters, coupled with a plot both grounded in stressful reality and uplifted by urban fantasy, lend the story its charm. Both the neighborhood and the library staff are robustly diverse. Pearl herself is biracial; her “long-gone father” was black and her mother is white. Bagley’s spot illustrations both reinforce this and add gentle humor.
The magic of reading is given a refreshingly real twist. (reading list) (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-6952-1
Page Count: 392
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
Kids tackle problems both supernatural and real in this atmospheric story.
During a summer in coastal Maine, the kids of Spruce Point work to break a ghostly curse and save a family inn.
The Home Away Inn has been in 12-year-old Parker Emerton’s family for generations, and he wants to keep it that way, but unlucky occurrences mean money is tight, and Parker’s parents are contemplating selling. He worries about having to leave this place he loves. Along with his younger sister, Bailey; two cousins; and summer friend Frankie, Parker is convinced that a ghost has placed a curse on the place. The kids also suspect grouchy neighbor Mrs. Gruvlig of being a witch. In seeking to contact the ghost and investigate suspected supernatural phenomena, the kids end up solving some of the inn’s problems—just not the way they expected. Most of the phenomena turn out to have rational causes, but a bright green flashing light remains unexplained. The strange happenings draw television ghost hunters to Spruce Point, guaranteeing full rooms at the inn. This is a well-paced mystery with a strong sense of place and solidly developed, realistic relationships. Siblings, cousins, and friends work together closely—they have a high degree of independence but do not lack parental oversight. Parker is adopted, and his school counselor believes he has obsessive tendencies; these facts come up in passing. Main characters default to White.
Kids tackle problems both supernatural and real in this atmospheric story. (Mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8611-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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