All scouts—and readers—must now raise their right hands and solemnly swear to read this
An alien abduction goes a long way toward curing Avani’s new-kid blues.
Avani Patel, an endearingly sassy Indian-American girl who loves rodeo, has joined Flower Scouts against her will; her well-intentioned single-parent father thinks it’ll help her make friends in their new home. Avani loathes every minute with these boring, brainless girls who endlessly jabber about makeup and boy bands. Then Avani is accidentally teleported to another planet by Mabel, a friendly Zirdonian working on her collections badge for Star Scouts, an intergalactic organization that studies robotics and has jet packs (but watch out for the xenoscatology badge, which is as gross as it sounds). Avani clicks instantly with her new troop, even though they've earned the fewest badges in the galaxy. At Camp Andromeda, they are challenged by a pack of methane-breathing Star Scouts (don’t call them toot-breathers!) and must work together to defeat their high-achieving, badge-laden rivals. With her warm, brown skin and lovably stubborn personality, Avani is an original, funny protagonist, and readers will delight as they adventure alongside her. Lawrence’s art has a cinematic feel; he keeps the perspective at the characters’-eye level, adding to the immersive feel. With brilliant worldbuilding and humor in spades, Lawrence has conceived a truly exceptional graphic tale that’s also a classic underdog story; don’t miss this one.
All scouts—and readers—must now raise their right hands and solemnly swear to read this . (Graphic science fiction. 7-12)Pub Date: March 21, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62672-280-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An enchanting, absorbing adventure.
Ember feels like an outsider at his new school for the orphaned and solitary.
Ember is a tiny humanoid with light-brown skin and a mop of black hair who doesn’t remember anything from before he lived in an attic in a city where everything was giant-sized. He longed for friendship, but when he ventured out to try to make a connection, he was accidentally swept into a storm drain and out to a beach. There, sea turtle Lua found and adopted him. Lua brings Ember to the far-off island where she once went to school. The other young creatures Ember meets there include Ana, a salamander, and Viggo, a pugnacious, blue-tongued lizard. Ember keeps a journal with observations and drawings and is both devastated and humiliated when some classmates read it and mock him. Ember’s sweetness seems to attract other creatures—a luminous tentacle, sea urchins reminiscent of the soot sprites in My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, and a smiling rock Ember dubs Boulder. Lessons at school involve intriguing discussions of camouflage and mimicry and introductions to the unique denizens of the island and surrounding sea. Clear, lovely graphics, rich colors, and intriguing perspectives provide detailed, cinematic depictions of the island world and the young ones’ adventures. Ember’s fierce determination to connect and his empathetic inclination to regard other creatures as benign afford him an impressive kind of courage when he and his classmates encounter the sea monster of his nightmares.
An enchanting, absorbing adventure. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9780063065208
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
An apocalyptic adventure with a whole lot of heart.
Thirteen-year-old Jack Sullivan and his crew of monster-fighting besties are fresh off their victorious battle against the evil Blarg, but there’s no rest for the weary in the middle of a Monster Apocalypse.
First, Joe’s Pizza has become the local monster hangout. And second, the zombies seem to be disappearing. Thankfully, the white boy, his not-so-secret Latina love, June Del Toro, his African-American, science-nerd best friend, Quint, and pre-apocalypse bully–turned-ally Dirk, a large white boy who loves to garden, befriend a man-monster who might have the answers to everything. Equal parts humor, adventure, and warmth, the book offers fans of the series and new readers alike an entirely agreeable outing. Jack’s witty narration and Holgate’s pitch-perfect illustrations make for a terrific read that’s particularly well suited for middle-grade boys who might otherwise be reluctant to pick up a book. There are plenty of foul-smelling, brain-sucking monsters and gizmos and gadgets to delight, but at its core, this is a story about friendship. Orphaned at birth and raised by a foster family he describes as jerks, Jack has always longed for a family of his own. Now that he has one, the only thing scarier than the monsters is the thought of losing them.
An apocalyptic adventure with a whole lot of heart. (Horror. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-670-01662-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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