A fast-paced adventure with a protagonist that youngsters will feel lucky to have found.
In Ezpeleta’s touching young adult novel, 11-year-old Emily finds that the best therapy comes on four legs.
It’s 1998 and Emily, beautifully illustrated by Glenn, is struggling with her father’s death. A forest ranger brightens her life by giving her a dog, but mom Diana forces Emily to return the pooch. Diana also wants to punish Emily for lying to the ranger about her family’s willingness to accept the dog, but the ranger saves Emily by suggesting her “punishment” be working for him. The dog, Lucky, proves her loyalty by running away from her next home and back to Emily. And later Lucky protects Emily from various animals, including an upset skunk. Emily takes Lucky to the vet to get the stench washed off, but she doesn’t have enough money to pay for the procedure, so she takes a job working for the vet as well. These new jobs give Emily joy and friends. One day, Emily falls and badly injures herself while walking in the woods and sends Lucky to get help. Ezpeleta paces this part of the narrative well, effectively building tension and drawing her characters together. She is also skilled at showing how difficult loss can be, as illustrated by Emily casual hope that a car will run her down. The strongest example of the toll the father’s death has taken, however, is Diana’s alcoholism. Diana has the potential to be a great, complex character, but unfortunately she’s not fleshed out enough; her role is largely either to fight with or apologize to Emily. There’s an obvious sympathy for a widow, but it’s hard for readers to feel it when Diana is so cruel, telling Emily that she dresses like an orphan. Another problem comes from another Diana; Emily’s father loved the late Princess of Wales and she figures prominently in the story, but she will probably not mean much to the book’s audience, who were either not alive or just born the year Diana died. In general, the Diana connection feels overdone; Emily’s parents are named Charles and Diana and Diana watches over Emily when she is in trouble. Thankfully, Emily makes up for the novel’s flaws. She’s smart, passionate, quirky and caring—a kid’s ideal best friend.
A fast-paced adventure with a protagonist that youngsters will feel lucky to have found.Pub Date: May 22, 2011
ISBN: 978-1456589172
Page Count: 168
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Another zippy charmer—no Quibbles here.
The mad scientist Porch sisters finally face off against the abominable (and newly reanimated) Talon Sharktūth.
Following their escapades at the titular hotel in Secrets of the Purple Pearl (2025), sisters Dee-Dee, Eugenia, and Gertrude, who are adopted, find themselves swept up in another adventure with the Lavinias, Aunt Desdemona, and their 98-year-old Grantie Lettuce in ParisToo, which is “like Paris but smaller, and it’s in upstate New York.” Of course, the girls’ beloved mentor and teacher, Millicent Quibb, pops in and out, both warning and helping the trio. The Porches are Apocryphs, and each one has a unique power. Their sightseeing trip around ParisToo feels a bit too convenient, and as suspicious coincidences mount (along with sightings of members of the KRA, the shadowy cabal that revived Sharktūth), the girls suspect that something sinister is afoot. They eventually learn the truth of Sharktūth’s scheme, but can they stop him and the KRA before it’s too late? This third series entry satisfyingly answers many of the lingering questions of its predecessors. With all the zest and zeal of a caffeinated squirrel, this installment delivers the series’ patented quirkiness and giggle-generating plotlines, footnotes, and illustrations. Millicent Quibb wisely opines that “it takes much bravery, to be different…but really, if no one dared to do it, who would save the day?” This is an endearing tale of found family and believing in oneself, with an ending that hints at further adventures.
Another zippy charmer—no Quibbles here. (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780316555814
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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BOOK REVIEW
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