An entertaining tale for adventure-hungry readers.
In Zaman’s well-paced debut YA novel, 11-year-old Clara Skilten has adventures at a training academy.
Clara has always sensed that she is different, particularly after a tragic fire consumed her home and stole her family’s lives. Lifted from an upsetting, stressful experience at an orphanage, she shows promise at a new academy, particularly in her fighting classes. She makes a new friend in a young girl nicknamed Lithium. Yet mysteries abound; for example, the name Muscaria seems to terrify students and faculty alike. Gradually, Clara learns that Queen Muscaria is a tyrannical ruler who plucks children from the academy, whisks them away to her palace, and imprisons them. Clara is offered a chance to go to Muscaria’s palace to try to find out the queen’s intentions. It turns out that Muscaria is responsible for many other crimes, and she has many enemies, including Clara’s own deceased father. Indeed, it soon becomes clear that Clara was chosen for the task not at random, but as part of a calculated plan. She finds herself tested physically and emotionally as she fights for her life and those of her peers and countrymen. Zaman shows remarkable finesse in her ability to situate readers in an unknown world, balancing expository descriptions with thrilling fight scenes and creative wordplay (one aggressive character’s name, for example, is Diator Glad). Clara is a compelling heroine whom young readers will cheer as she battles against pure evil. At times, the worldbuilding seems shaky, as it’s hard to determine whether the book is meant to be fantasy, dystopian, or contemporary realistic fiction. Furthermore, Clara seems to be a remarkably mature preteen, speaking with an elevated vocabulary and sophisticated syntax that seem somewhat unrealistic. However, the teenage Zaman is a promising new voice in YA fiction who can clearly write circles around much older authors.
An entertaining tale for adventure-hungry readers.Pub Date: July 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-938136-53-5
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Lucky Penny Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An enjoyable picture book that addresses important issues in a kid-friendly way without being preachy.
Willenbrock’s heartwarming debut picture book is the autobiographical story of how she came to share her home with a special shelter dog.
Told from the perspective of Marshall, Willenbrock’s dog, this tale tells of his unpleasant life in the home of a dog hoarder, where food for the dogs was so scarce that they fought each other at mealtime. In one of these fights, Marshall’s front leg was broken and his face was badly bitten. When animal rescuers finally found out about the animal hoarder and took the dogs away, Marshall was in such sorry shape that they didn’t know if he would make it. He ended up losing his damaged front leg and his face remained badly scarred, yet he describes the compassion of the humane society workers who helped him learn how to walk and run on three legs. He meets his new “mom” (owner) and adjusts to a life of freedom with her and her other dog, Mooshy. Though life is good, Marshall is insecure and nervous about how other dogs and people will react to the fact that he has only three legs and a big scar on his face, but he’s pleasantly surprised by the kindness of others. Heimbaugh’s realistic colored-pencil illustrations help bring Marshall’s story to life. Due to wordiness and the use of some bigger words—celebrity, socialize, limitations—this book will most likely work better as a read-aloud with school-age children. It also lends itself to discussions about the humane treatment of animals and discussions about bullying.
An enjoyable picture book that addresses important issues in a kid-friendly way without being preachy.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0615666259
Page Count: 40
Publisher: The Marshall Movement
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Unanswered questions and heavy-handed writing drain intrigue from this not-so-spooky story.
Three friends unravel old secrets lurking beneath the surface of a picture-perfect town in this young adult mystery.
Fallon and her best friend, Blair, live in the town of Whitford, a “sort of old fashioned” place where “everyone knows everyone else.” Nothing ever goes wrong there, except for local 16-year-old girls’ penchant for drowning in Whitford Pond on their 16th birthdays. That is, nothing ever goes wrong until Blair, Fallon and their new friend Lila start investigating the drownings as part of a history project. Soon after the girls paddle out to the spooky island at the middle of the pond where its victims are buried, Fallon discovers that she’s related to the pond’s first victim: Elizabeth Mason, who was engaged to the prosperous son of the town jeweler before her supposed suicide in 1750. By poking around the town historical society and badgering Fallon’s lively grandmother, Nana, the girls realize that something sinister lurks beneath Whitford’s bucolic surface. It’s only when the trio heads to the fourth floor of Whitford’s public library in search of A Genealogy of the Noble Families of Whitford: A History that they realize their quest is putting them in danger. Blair and Fallon’s friendship feels comfortable and credible, although the addition of “exotic” Lila seems like a strained plot device rather than a real-life event. Indeed, much of the plotting is convenient rather than clever; the girls’ discoveries primarily result from pushing Nana to give them information or snooping around Nana’s house—and the developments that aren’t related to Nana are foreshadowed so heavily that they come as no surprise. Another distraction: Every time that the inhabitants of Whitford scream or emphasize a turn of phrase, Fredo uses capital letters. They’re are unnecessary, for example, when Fallon says, “I JUST HAD THE BEST IDEA EVER!”
Unanswered questions and heavy-handed writing drain intrigue from this not-so-spooky story.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 172
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
