Readers will be eager for more episodes of the intrepid team of Rapunzel and Jack.
“Stop calling her that witch. She’s Witch,” Rapunzel insists; she enjoys her easy life in a tower—and Witch’s frequent, apparently loving, visits—until Jack Beanstalker tricks Rapunzel into leaving.
Rapunzel knows that she possesses something called “innocence” that is important to Witch, and the text deftly translates that into naïveté, keeping things middle-grade–appropriate. Rapunzel’s love for Witch is Jack’s leverage for involving the braid-laden teen in what becomes an intricate quest. Orchestrated by the fairy Glyph, Jack and Rapunzel find themselves on a joint journey, with multiple goals. The novel does not miss a beat in creating Tyme, a beautifully described world with a seamless fusion of magical and nonmagical beings, scenery and objects. Although there are dark, suspenseful moments and some acts of violence, there is also plenty of humor, including a frog’s wine-influenced exploits and Jack’s clumsy attempts to explain pregnancy to Rapunzel. The playful use of Ubiquitous products—acorns that temporarily change into whatever one has paid for—is a pleasing nod to the author’s stated admiration of Harry Potter. The characters are refreshingly three-dimensional, helping readers empathize with Rapunzel as she wrestles with universal feelings of love and betrayal—and priming readers of fairy tales to anticipate such novels as Wicked.
Readers will be eager for more episodes of the intrepid team of Rapunzel and Jack. (map) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-63826-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A batten-down-the-hatches thriller anchored by critical real-life themes.
During the pandemic, a teen inadvertently gets caught up in a crime ring in his touristy hometown of Key West.
Fifteen-year-old Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker, after his ancestors who made a living salvaging shipwrecks. He is thriving thanks to the online schooling during lockdown that allows him the flexibility to be out on his boat. The flexibility also helps with his odd job, one that has him working graveyard shifts in an actual graveyard: A British man pays him $50 per week to clean one particular headstone of the accumulated iguana excrement that follows a day of reptilian sunbathing. One night, while he’s at work in the cemetery, Wrecker is approached by a silver-mustachioed man who wants to hire him to keep an eye on a brand-new crypt, but there is something fishy about the situation and intimidating about the man, and soon Wrecker is being coerced into doing things that he is certain are tied to illegal activity. This thrilling story featuring wry, witty writing also explores the history of racism in Key West, the environmental impacts of cruise tourism, and the effects of Covid-19 on both people’s lives and criminal activities. Wrecker is a sympathetic character whose intelligence, savvy, and strong moral compass lead to a satisfying finish. Wrecker is biracial, with Black and white ancestry; most main characters read white.
A batten-down-the-hatches thriller anchored by critical real-life themes. (Thriller. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780593376287
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
Magical and charming.
Moth Hush, the Okay Witch, is back for another adventure, grappling with middle school bullies and magical mayhem in this second series installment.
Moth Hush is still coming to terms with the revelation of her witchy heritage and magical abilities, but winter break is over, and it is time to head back to school and peers who were cruel even before magic entered her life. When Moth discovers an ancient charm that promises to grant her the confidence and social charisma that she lacks, it seems too good to be true. With the help of the charm, Moth soon finds her star rising, even receiving a nomination for the honor of Founderella, to be crowned at the Valentine’s Ball. Use of the charm has one major downside, however, as it invites the interference of a shadowy demonic presence. In a climax that is part Sabrina the Teenage Witch and part Carrie, Moth must face down not only the demon from the charm, but her own personal demons as well. Moth, who presents as Black and whose family traces its roots to a small fictional island off the Iberian coast, is a relatable hero readers can’t help but root for. While she grapples with the usual middle school angst surrounding identity, self-esteem, and where she fits in, she also forces the town and readers to confront issues of racism and privilege that are as pervasive in the town of Founder’s Bluff as they are in real life.
Magical and charming. (Graphic fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: July 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3149-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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