Blasts its way to a literally disarming finish.
Villains both villainous and not so much square off against would-be galactic conqueror Perses the Destroyer in this Monty Python–style trilogy closer.
The rampant snark and farting of previous episodes continue into a climactic face-off in a garbage dump. The members of the light-skinned McEvil clan—newly reformed villain wannabe Steve, sporting his trademark bright orange quiff; fiendish, pink-haired little sister, Eve; and retired archvillain grandpa Tiberius—reunite with a coterie of reluctant and/or inept allies to exchange tart ripostes while watching giant robots battle. A preliminary bout with the outsize foe on planet Malum dishes up more occasions for snappy dialogue. Robot: “Beneath the armor lies a being so frightening, to look upon me would mean certain death!” Steve: “Sounds like my dad in the morning.” Along with all the satisfying arm-lopping and mighty blaster bolts, Turnbloom treats readers to classic burns (“Hey! You’re their little magic lackey, right?” “Sidekick. The word is ‘sidekick’”) as well as a profusion of powerful poots and prodigious plot twists, all leading to a heartwarming ending. The vibrantly colored art emphasizes the characters’ exaggerated facial expressions, particularly their highly emotive eyes. A final set of drawing lessons caps this slap-happy finale.
Blasts its way to a literally disarming finish. (Graphic fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: March 11, 2025
ISBN: 9780593649589
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Ponderous and protracted, with more work needed on both the world and the characters.
Two young teens with special powers face an ancient evil rising from the very heart of the Tinvali Empire in this doorstopping series opener.
Pursued by ruthless agents eager to exploit her mysterious ability to read peoples’ true feelings, Arden—eventually, after many chapters alternating between dual narrators—links up with foundling Mako, a budding music mage who’s carefully hiding the fact that he’s invited an invisible smooth-talking trickster spirit named Narrix to be his lifelong guardian. It seems that some of Narrix’s fellow spirits may be even nastier—and there are ominous hints that they might be sneaking back into the world. Several of Arden’s adventures do more to bulk up the page count than advance the plot in any meaningful way, and though (like many of Mull’s protagonists) she’s a dab hand at snarky banter, she otherwise comes off as a rather wooden character. Readers may find Mako’s journey and conflicts more absorbing, as he struggles to balance the joy of blossoming into an outstanding warrior under Narrix’s tutelage with the sneaking suspicion he’s made a bad choice of tutor. Whether his concerns are valid or not remains to be seen. The leads present white.
Ponderous and protracted, with more work needed on both the world and the characters. (Fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: April 14, 2026
ISBN: 9780593712047
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
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