A third series installment that offers compelling storytelling with emotional depth and chilling suspense.
In Downing and Waugh’s latest middle-grade series entry, an American boy attempts to rescue his father, who is being held by the Nazis in 1930s Germany.
This ever-expanding, wild odyssey of suspense is deftly grounded in early-20th-century American history and a well-calibrated orphan-in-peril vibe. Exploding Experiment (2023) introduced Lewis Carter, a bespectacled, asthmatic, then-11-year-old boy, left homeless in 1930s Pittsburgh after his chemist father’s mysterious apparent death. Using his dad’s secret “recipe” for an explosive but harmless substance, he survived by stealing food for himself and ragtag fellow street kids. Newspapers and police called them “The Flash Gang,” and assumed they were adults; then, real evildoers came after them. In Treasonous Tycoon (2024), Lewis and his best friend, brave Pearl, experience Pittsburgh’s deadly flood of 1936, and fight mobsters, corrupt moguls, and Nazi sympathizers. Now, in this third entry, Lewis’ father is apparently imprisoned in Adolf Hitler’s Berlin (before the start of World War II), and Lewis and Pearl embark on a rescue mission. Thanks to an attaché working for Pearl’s despised but rich absentee father, the pair cross the Atlantic, going first-class on an ocean liner with everything necessary to get in and out of Berlin. However, they wonder why the attaché is so helpful, and they also later puzzle over why a particular doddering old lady won’t leave them alone. Is the American singer (with a French stage name) they meet as nice as he appears? And is it a coincidence that a suspect watch repairman is on the ship, too?
Readers who are familiar with the series will correctly surmise that things don’t go smoothly for Lewis and Pearl once they reach Nazi-controlled Berlin. However, just how completely and quickly their luck changes darkens the plot with a notable and palpable sense of unease—one that is only heightened by the pervasive menace of Hitler’s brownshirts and SS officers. At one point, Lewis has a vicious encounter with some members of the Hitler Youth. Such chaos and hate seem to contradict the outwardly orderly world that the pair must navigate: “I don’t understand why nobody cares!” Lewis says. “Violence seems to be committed so…so casually. Nobody does anything.” Without ever feeling exploitative, the story takes care to portray the very real dangers of the time in a direct manner. The different ways that anxious Lewis and intrepid Pearl react to the various, profound plot twists throughout the story ring true—because this book, like the two series entries that precede it, is about fathers and what it means for children when adults make sacrifices for the greater good. Although the title of one of the last chapters here is “The End of the Adventures,” the epilogue makes clear there are still some loose ends to tie up and challenges for Lewis and Pearl to pursue. With its multiple plot twists and vivid sense of danger, this book doesn’t disappoint. Here’s hoping that this terrific first-rate middle-grade series continues.
A third series installment that offers compelling storytelling with emotional depth and chilling suspense.Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781646035694
Page Count: 214
Publisher: Fitzroy Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
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