This series keeps getting wilder and, more importantly, better.
Following her father’s abduction by the nefarious Dr. Gray at the end of Going Wild (2016), Charlie Wilde and her friends must hone their animal-inspired powers to rescue him.
Undeterred by the kidnapping, the Wilde family partners up with a scientist who formerly worked alongside Mr. Wilde on a top-secret government project code-named Project Chimera. As she learns about her father’s past, as well as the extent of Dr. Gray’s horrifying plans to further develop his human-animal–hybrid research, the white girl starts to master the animal powers her bracelet grants her. Building on the firm foundation of Book 1, McMann continues to excel at creating likable characters and a surprising amount of emotional heft. Though Charlie’s friends Latina Maria and Mac, who is black, have super bracelets now, new problems arise when Maria’s bracelet turns her part-monkey. Meanwhile, Charlie’s tense relationship with her “sort-of friend” Kelly, a strong-headed white girl with an unpredictable agenda, grows uneasy. Like its predecessor, this sequel features often unengaging action sequences, and the novel’s middle portion (mostly stakeouts involving insect robots and training montages) is weirdly drawn out. As a result, Mr. Wilde’s inevitable rescue and Charlie and Co.’s showdown with Dr. Gray seem abrupt if welcome. Still, fans of Book 1 will enjoy what’s here: a diverse cast of returning and new characters, a group of winsome heroes saving the day, and the promise of even more danger in Book 3.
This series keeps getting wilder and, more importantly, better. (Science fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-233717-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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