A gentle, slightly fantastical story about hurting and healing.
A tween with a lot on his mind and a dog with magical powers cross paths in Langley, British Columbia.
Charlie Campbell, almost 13, is unhappy that his father will be moving out. Even soccer doesn’t feel like fun anymore. But Charlie adores dogs and dreams of becoming a veterinarian, plus he wants to avoid being at home listening to Mom and Dad arguing. So, he begs Dad’s friend Dr. Anderton to take him on as an after-school volunteer at his veterinary clinic. Charlie enjoys most aspects of the experience, but the highlight is meeting elderly chocolate Lab Buster, a retired service dog with hip problems who, like Charlie, is nursing a broken heart; Buster’s owner died, leaving him homeless and at risk of being put to sleep if no one adopts him soon. On their daily walks, Charlie and Buster encounter one unusual situation after another in which they are called on to help people in distress. It also turns out Buster has magical powers: He can fly. Through his relationship with the dog, Charlie grows emotionally and recognizes that while they were helping others, Buster was helping him, too. Animal lovers, readers who enjoy stories blending realism with fantastical touches, and young people struggling with parental conflict will enjoy this accessible novel. Charlie defaults to White; there is some diversity in the supporting cast.
A gentle, slightly fantastical story about hurting and healing. (author interview) (Fabulism. 8-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2023
ISBN: 9780889956650
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Red Deer Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
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
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short.
In the dystopian, totalitarian world of 2099, 14-year-old Tessa and her family are desperate to solve the mystery of her twin brother Theo’s disappearance.
Tessa is growing up in a time when playgrounds are historical relics, surveillance cameras are everywhere, music is outlawed, and owning books is illegal. Under the absolute rule of Zokiris, the decadeslong leader of her territory, people are heavily controlled. When Theo vanishes under mysterious circumstances and his name is erased from the Territory Statistics list, Tessa’s 135-year-old neighbor, Miriam, gives the family contraband books that become central to figuring out Theo’s whereabouts. Most books have long since been seized and stored away in Building 903; Tessa is intrigued by their presence in her home, while her mother is terrified. Lowry, the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Giver (1993), shines in her creation of uncomfortably believable dystopian societies. Tessa’s painfully limited world is fully imagined, with its own history, laws, and norms. Her relationship with her brother reads as realistic and tender and is crucial to the mystery. Miriam is the most strongly developed character: wise and independent, unafraid and hopeful. While the climb to the book’s climax is captivating, the hurried resolution is disappointing. The powerful messaging around the importance of literature and imagination certainly resonates, however. The main characters present white.
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short. (Dystopian. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780063515109
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
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