Boy and dog make a redoubtable, memorable team.
In this race-against-time debut, a homeless 12-year-old discovers a winning lottery ticket—nearly destroying his life.
Bully and his beloved mutt, Jack, have been sleeping rough on the London streets for months. Bully had scarpered after his mum's death, knowing his mum's boyfriend didn't want him and definitely didn't want Jack. But despite the brutal poverty, Bully's got mates, is a decent beggar, and can keep Jack and himself fed. One day he finds a lottery ticket and learns it's not merely a winner, it's a huge winner—but there's a catch. He's only got a few days to claim his cash from an office all the way on the other side of London. If only he weren't so trusting; spilling his secret to just a couple of his homeless friends has made him the juiciest tidbit of gossip among London's underclass. It's not the greedy spongers who worry him so much as the vicious gangsters. Soon he needs not only to claim his prize, but to protect both himself and Jack from criminals who have no objections either to murder or to (sometimes explicit) sadistic animal cruelty. Somewhat unbelievably, the only trustworthy allies Bully finds are a kindly middle class family rather than all his street-wise friends. There’s no denying that Byrne can write hard-core action that keeps the pages turning; here’s hoping eighth- and ninth-graders who'll love the high-voltage thrills won't mind Bully's relative youth.
Boy and dog make a redoubtable, memorable team. (Thriller. 12-14)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7996-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
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