A story that will inspire many to find the light within.
A tale of two girls fighting for justice and truth in a Middle Eastern–inflected world of magic.
Nalah Bardak, or, as the other magic-using Thauma kids call her, “No-Luck” due to her clumsiness, helps her struggling father sell glass trinkets at the New Hadar market. The Hokmet government strictly forbids any magical activity, so most Thauma live quietly, trying to sell their wares inconspicuously. Her friend Marcus Cutter fares better, as his rich family has connections that allow them to continue Thauma craftwork. When Zachary Tam, an old family acquaintance, asks the Bardaks to re-create an illegal mirror, Nalah secretly takes the commission, hoping to earn enough to start a new life far from Hokmet rule. As soon as Tam receives the mirror, however, he kidnaps her father and escapes through it into another realm. Crossing over in pursuit, Nalah and Marcus find a world eerily similar to their own. There, Nalah meets Princess Halan, a decidedly powerless royal who dreams of life outside her palace walls and whose story unfolds in alternating chapters. Under extreme circumstances these two must work together to reveal the truth of their worlds and restore peace. Cyprus creates in Nalah and Halan two appealing and independent female protagonists; their mirrored worlds are a fresh alternative to familiar medieval Europe–esque fantasylands.
A story that will inspire many to find the light within. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-245847-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey.
Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.
Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-289593-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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