by Lynne Jonell ; illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2019
Gripping and thoughtful; readers will be left pondering their own connections to the past.
A time-travel adventure incorporates reflections on human nature in this middle-grade stand-alone.
With their mother in danger overseas, 12-year-old Will Menzies and his little brother, Jamie, are bundled off from the United States to Scotland to live with relatives. At the family’s ancestral castle, Will discovers his ability to look into the past…and, as Jamie impulsively learns, even to visit it. Will and his irrepressible cousin Nan are determined to rescue Jamie, but every trip into history brings greater dangers. Will is an immensely appealing protagonist—introspective and responsible yet sick with worry, anger, and guilt over his mother’s situation. The other characters (most of them Will’s Scottish relatives and ancestors and all white, like Will and Jamie) are more thinly drawn but still lively and likable. The historical chapters especially shine: Despite the hand-waving pseudo-scientific mechanics, the trio’s jaunts to the Middle Ages, Roman times, and even earlier are vividly realized, rich in well-chosen details, and charming and thrilling and gross and cruel where appropriate. (While never graphically explicit, the level of bloody violence sometimes clashes with the simple, almost naïve, illustrations.) These episodes are united by Will’s growing awareness of humanity’s tragic predilection toward fear and violence, along with its capacity for bravery and kindness. In a touching epilogue, he is able to bring his new understanding to reconciliation with his parents’ choices.
Gripping and thoughtful; readers will be left pondering their own connections to the past. (Fantasy. 9-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-11767-0
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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by Elinor Teele ; illustrated by Ben Whitehouse ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2016
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish.
The dreary prospect of spending a lifetime making caskets instead of wonderful inventions prompts a young orphan to snatch up his little sister and flee. Where? To the circus, of course.
Fortunately or otherwise, John and 6-year-old Page join up with Boz—sometime human cannonball for the seedy Wandering Wayfarers and a “vertically challenged” trickster with a fantastic gift for sowing chaos. Alas, the budding engineer barely has time to settle in to begin work on an experimental circus wagon powered by chicken poop and dubbed (with questionable forethought) the Autopsy. The hot pursuit of malign and indomitable Great-Aunt Beauregard, the Coggins’ only living relative, forces all three to leave the troupe for further flights and misadventures. Teele spins her adventure around a sturdy protagonist whose love for his little sister is matched only by his fierce desire for something better in life for them both and tucks in an outstanding supporting cast featuring several notably strong-minded, independent women (Page, whose glare “would kill spiders dead,” not least among them). Better yet, in Boz she has created a scene-stealing force of nature, a free spirit who’s never happier than when he’s stirring up mischief. A climactic clutch culminating in a magnificently destructive display of fireworks leaves the Coggin sibs well-positioned for bright futures. (Illustrations not seen.)
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish. (Adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234510-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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by T.P. Jagger ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 4, 2022
A snappy mystery that’s full of heart.
A group of bright friends tackles the puzzle of their lives.
Elmwood, New Hampshire, 11-year-old Gina Sparks is small in stature but big on reporting ongoing dramas for the local newspaper with support from her journalist mom. When an unbelievable scoop comes her way, Gina must rely on her tightknit crew of sixth grade best friends whose initials happen to spell GEEK, a label they choose to proudly reclaim. She and science-minded prankster Elena Hernández, theater kid Edgar Feingarten, and driven math genius Kevin Robinson decide to get to the bottom of things when they learn that the Van Houten Toy & Game Company heir made elaborate plans to leave everything to the town of Elmwood before her death—but only if a member of the community could solve an intricate multistep puzzle. Gina hopes that deciphering the clues and finding the missing fortune will be just the thing to revitalize the down-on-its-luck town and bring the Elmwood Tribune back into the black, saving her mom’s job and Gina’s passion project. The GEEKs work together, using their individual talents and deductive reasoning skills to unravel the mystery. Infused with media literacy pointers, such as the difference between fact and opinion and reminders to avoid bias when reporting, the story encourages readers to think critically. Gina and Edgar read as White; Elena is cued as Latinx, and Kevin is implied Black.
A snappy mystery that’s full of heart. (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37793-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
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