A strong sequel with a clear message about embracing one’s true self.
In Hewitt’s children’s fantasy sequel, five girls reunite with a mysterious fox to break through illusions in another world.
Since their last adventure in Foxtale Forest, third graders Amy, Kez, Eva, Pax, and Dani have all felt a desire to belong, whether it’s in the popular group at school or in their own families. None of the girls are happy, and they each yearn for a return to the forest. However, when the Fox calls them back there, they don’t leave their personal issues behind. The Fox sends them to investigate the city of Lumina, where almost everyone wears special glasses called Visionizers that show them images of a flourishing and modern urban landscape: “Where you’re going, the truth is hard to see. To uncover what’s real, you have to look with more than just your eyes.” The only people in Lumina who don’t regularly wear Visionizers are Tyler, who does so secretly so he can enter the mayor’s citywide Visioneering Games, and his mother, Mira, an engineer who doesn’t trust the universal addiction to a false reality. When Ty runs away to enter the competition, the girls decide to track him down in order to protect him from the mayor’s schemes. This second book in Hewitt’s series presents a larger-than-life adventure with a relevant lesson about being yourself and stepping away from screens to embrace the real world—two things that Amy, in particular, grapples with throughout the story. It’s difficult to keep track of the individual personalities of each of the five girls, other than Amy, but many readers may find the lives of individual members of the diverse group to be relatable. Burke's dynamic full-color illustrations punctuate key moments in each chapter, and smaller black-and-white insets appear throughout.
A strong sequel with a clear message about embracing one’s true self.Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781964010052
Page Count: 244
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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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