This series opener stands as a good reminder that today's generation still has a lot to learn from tales of old.
While fairy tales might still have application in the modern world, modern gadgets paired with innovative techniques provide terrific tools for fighting evil.
Kristina Mah, a girl of Chinese descent, doesn't relish being the new kid at school, especially when she's also dealing with the emotional fallout of her father's sudden exit from her and her mother's lives. But she's managing OK and has even made a new friend when something happens to make her question whether everything at the school is as it should be. The plot thickens when Kristina and her new friend, fellow gamer Dylan, discover the weird fourth floor and unknowingly release an evil force into the world. When another new student arrives on the scene, her suspicious behavior makes Kristina and Dylan wonder what exactly they've stumbled into—all signs point to a very bizarre intersection between real life and the fairy-tale world. Taking inspiration from the tale of the djinn, Chan offers characters of depth and a plot that's both compelling and accessible in a small number of pages. His short paragraphs and clear sentence structures make the text attractive to struggling readers, while the subject matter will prove interesting to many preteens and early teens. A hint of identity struggle enriches the text while cliffhangers maintain the book's forward momentum.
This series opener stands as a good reminder that today's generation still has a lot to learn from tales of old. (Supernatural adventure. 10-13)Pub Date: March 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9939351-5-2
Page Count: 126
Publisher: Clockwise Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
This sequel to Malice (2009) draws the rival casts of evil monsters and teenage rebels into climactic battles both in this world and the parallel one behind the pages of a comic. As Seth makes his way back into Malice with the talismanic Shard and joins the effort to mount an attack on the dread Deadhouse, a new ally, Alicia, nervously tracks the House’s sinister master Tall Jake to the decrepit English psychiatric hospital where Grendel—the mad, disturbed, misshapen graphic artist (and maybe god?) who has created both the comic and the world it depicts—is imprisoned. Like the opener, this features expertly meshed multiple plotlines, colorful supporting characters (notably a clockwork sabertooth and a Malice resident afflicted with “regenerative leprosy,” meaning that he keeps losing body parts that then grow back), frequent eerie skitterings and sudden feelings of dread plus nonstop action that breaks, occasionally, from prose into graphic-novel–style panels festooned with noisy sound effects. A real crowd pleaser, with further episodes possible but not necessary. (Graphic hybrid/fantasy. 11-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-16045-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
Prophesied savior meets eco-thriller in this too-long apocalyptic adventure. Thirteen-year-old Eli is destined for a cushy job at InfiniCorp, his grandfather’s company; all-powerful InfiniCorp runs the domed cities that house the remainder of human civilization. From the Department of Painless Dentistry to the Department of Cool and Comfortable Air, InfiniCorp reassures the citizens that it’s taking care of everything. Eli bucks the system and his own family’s trust by questioning the glitches he witnesses in the dome. It’s not long before he’s roped in to the plots of the Outsiders, barbarians who inhabit the hellish desert outside the domes. Eli’s adventure occasionally descends to proselytizing, with wise mentors explaining the dangers of climate change and consumerism. As homily it fails: Why learn about climate change if salvation lies in a predestined child of privilege leading the suffering masses to the Wild Orange Yonder? Nonetheless, there’s enough excitement in this story of gadgets and intelligent animal sidekicks (Eli’s pet mongoose, Marilyn, communicates with him telepathically) to keep readers turning pages—though possibly not enough to make them seek out volume two. (Science fiction. 12-13)
Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-385-73708-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
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