Supernatural preteens face relatable challenges in this deftly balanced fantasy tale.
Seventh graders strive to follow their dreams at a magical school for the arts in Chastaine’s middle-grade novel.
A story in the magical boarding school vein with its own thoughtful approach, this lively fantasy, the first in a series, is well grounded in real-life concerns, including pressures from peers and parents, shaky self-confidence, and the importance of self-advocacy. Liska, Ephy, and Airin have just started seventh grade at the Eclipse Supernatural School for the Arts, where the students and faculty include witches, ghosts, phantoms, and even a Christmas elf. Liska is a shifter, able to take on the form of a fox. Ephy, from Olympia, is half-human, half-goddess. Airin is a banshee. All three face parental disapproval or disdain for their chosen artistic fields: Liska’s father insists that she carry on the family tradition of dance, but Liska is determined to study music; Airin, a subservient protector of the Darklighter family of enchanters, hopes to become a singer; and Ephy’s unloving mother (“who only smiled for photos”) pressures her to emulate her favored demigod brother’s TV and social media celebrity, but Ephy wants to use her light-shaping ability in the theater. Some of the colorful fantasy elements could use additional fleshing out (what is actually taught in the “Unlivables” class for friendly Ghost and Ghouls?), but the author’s empathy for young people struggling to follow their own paths despite internal and external challenges resonates, starting with the novel’s dedication to “anyone who has ever felt like they didn’t quite fit in” (this empathy is underscored when, as a simple, everyday courtesy, the characters introduce themselves to each other with their preferred pronouns). Friendships with like-minded peers and a few supportive adults make a difference, as does a defining moment in which Liska, Ephy, and Airin work together to create an original, autobiographical musical performance for a school competition. The novel’s third-person narration alternates perspectives between the three main characters—and intriguingly touches on a fourth when exploring what drives arrogant cellist Oliver Darklighter to bully Airin without excusing his behavior.
Supernatural preteens face relatable challenges in this deftly balanced fantasy tale.Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2023
ISBN: 979-8851778728
Page Count: 138
Publisher: Independently Published
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Quirky and imaginative—postmodern storytelling at its best.
Friendly curiosity and a gift for naming earn a polar bear an assortment of (mostly animal) friends, adventures, mishaps, and discoveries.
Arriving at a northern ocean, Duane spies a shipwreck. Swimming out to investigate, he meets its lone occupant, C.C., a learned snowy owl whose noble goal is acquiring knowledge to apply “toward the benefit of all.” Informing Duane that he’s a polar bear, she points out a nearby cave that might suit him—it even has a mattress. Adding furnishings from the wreck—the grandfather clock’s handless, but who needs to tell time when it’s always now?—he meets a self-involved musk ox, entranced by his own reflection, who’s delighted when Duane names him “Handsome.” As he comes to understand, then appreciate their considerable diversity, Duane brings out the best in his new friends. C.C., who has difficulty reading emotions and dislikes being touched, evokes the autism spectrum. Magic, a bouncy, impulsive arctic fox, manifests ADHD. Major Puff, whose proud puffin ancestry involves courageous retreats from danger, finds a perfect companion in Twitch, a risk-aware, common-sensical hare. As illustrated, Sun Girl, a human child, appears vaguely Native, and Squint, a painter, white, but they’re sui generis: The Canadian author avoids referencing human culture. The art conveys warmth in an icy setting; animal characters suggest beloved stuffed toys, gently reinforcing the message that friendship founded on tolerance breeds comfort and safety.
Quirky and imaginative—postmodern storytelling at its best. (Animal fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3341-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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