Ridiculous in all the best ways
The latest in Anderson's madcap pastiche series takes on the undead of upstate New York.
By "undead," of course, we mean vampires, zombies and ghosts, despite Lily Gefelty’s father's insistence that undead really means "[p]eople who haven't died." When Lily's mother vanishes in Todburg, N.Y. ("Undead Capital of the U.S."!)—only to return from her trip clearly possessed—Lily and her friends pop off to the rescue. Good thing Jasper Dash (Boy Technonaut and hero of an adventure-book series) has a Robo-Sedan to take them to Todburg. Surely they will succeed at rescuing Mrs. Gefelty, for it's not just Lily and Jasper on this rescue mission, but Katie Mulligan (heroine of the Horror Hollow series) and Brother Drgnan Pghlik (not the hero of any series, although he is awfully swell). Unfortunately, they're also joined by Katie's snobby cousin Madigan Westlake-Duvet, the star of the Snott Academy series about bratty, beautiful prep-school kids. The layers of nonsense grow ever thicker and funnier as our heroes encounter a haunted theater that advertises "comical skits...Ha! Ha! Ha!”, a ghost actress from French-occupied Russia (or was that Russia-occupied France?) and a giant Adirondack tarantula.
Ridiculous in all the best ways . (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4169-8641-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Eleven-year-old Misty Gordon is chosen by the ghost of psychic Madame Zaster to protect their coastal New England town of Ashcrumb from an invasion of evil, ghostly pirates. The pirates, aided by their living, equally vile descendants, are bent on finding three powerful, magical statuettes that they stole, buried and lost in 1633. Subplots—an insane man named May Nays who will do anything to eat mayonnaise, and Misty’s parents’ antiques business, D.E.A.D., involved with buying and transporting (with a refitted ice-cream truck, complete with music) the estates of the local deceased—add a touch of humor to the action. Character development is insubstantial, the plot predictable and the setting unconvincingly sketched, all combining to make this fast-paced effort just average. The conclusion (of course) sets the stage for further works in the series. Readers seeking slightly scary mysteries with a generous dash of humor will find more enjoyment by selecting the similarly flavored, much more entertaining Pure Dead series by Debi Gliori. (Mystery. 9-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8109-9357-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Simple, affecting prose and intricate, inspired paintings make this one worth sharing for sure.
A heartrending story of a New Orleans family’s experience through Hurricane Katrina.
Ten-year-old Louis Daniel goes to sleep hugging his brass cornet close as the winds of Hurricane Katrina begin to howl and rattle the house. In the morning, the family realizes that the levee has broken, and the water is quickly rising. They begin to make their way through the wreckage to the promised safety of the Superdome, with Louis Daniel and his mother riding on a piece of someone’s porch as his father pulls them along past a plastic Christmas tree, an eager puppy that they cannot rescue and something that is probably a body in the water. The family makes it to the Superdome, but they eventually find themselves separated. Louis Daniel is sure he has to do something to find his father, but what? And what will happen to the family after they leave the Superdome? And to the friendly dog Louis had to leave behind in the rushing waters? Bootman’s gorgeous paintings bring out the resilient character of the city even as he depicts the devastation it suffered. However, it is through the body language and the emotion in the faces of the mostly African-American cast of characters he creates that Bootman most precisely articulates what it was like to live through such a harrowing experience.
Simple, affecting prose and intricate, inspired paintings make this one worth sharing for sure. (author’s note) . (Picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-56145-591-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
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