Engaging, exciting, and enthralling in equal measure.
Two lonely children find adventure on the high seas.
On the desolate salt-strewn land of Caveat in Dickerson’s Sea, Viola and Wilmur lived with their ill-tempered caretaker, Hestur. She told the children all about how the salt came to ravage the land following a cataclysmic event called the Great Blow, which transpired after a bloodthirsty pirate known as Scarlet Morning murdered the beloved queen, Hail Meridian, and stole her crown. After waking up one day to find Hestur gone, the children grew up in isolation. When a pirate ship, the Calamary Rose, captained by the delightfully snarky Cadence Chase, arrives on Caveat’s shores, Viola and Wilmur decide to join them. They soon find themselves on an epic, swashbuckling journey replete with revelry, drama, secrets, cursed (and very creepy) sea gulls, and (perhaps their most difficult challenge) separation from each other. Acclaimed graphic novelist Stevenson shines in his prose debut; his worldbuilding is clever and highly immersive, conveying an atmosphere that’s completely novel while also nostalgic. With its pirates, magic, adventure, friendship, and found family, this middle-grade gem comes very close to achieving the impossible—having something for everyone. The edge-of-your-seat cliffhanger ending will leave readers panting for the next series entry. Fluid, atmospheric spot art and full-page illustrations punctuate the text, adding to the dramatic tension. The artwork shows Wilmur with light skin and a shock of spiky hair and Viola with dark skin and Afro-textured hair.
Engaging, exciting, and enthralling in equal measure. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780063210349
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A deceptively simple, tender tale in which respect, resilience, and hope triumph.
Generations of human and animal families grow and change, seen from the point of view of the red oak Wishing Tree that shelters them all.
Most trees are introverts at heart. So says Red, who is over 200 years old and should know. Not to mention that they have complicated relationships with humans. But this tree also has perspective on its animal friends and people who live within its purview—not just witnessing, but ultimately telling the tales of young people coming to this country alone or with family. An Irish woman named Maeve is the first, and a young 10-year-old Muslim girl named Samar is the most recent. Red becomes the repository for generations of wishes; this includes both observing Samar’s longing wish and sporting the hurtful word that another young person carves into their bark as a protest to Samar’s family’s presence. (Red is monoecious, they explain, with both male and female flowers.) Newbery medalist Applegate succeeds at interweaving an immigrant story with an animated natural world and having it all make sense. As Red observes, animals compete for resources just as humans do, and nature is not always pretty or fair or kind. This swiftly moving yet contemplative read is great for early middle grade, reluctant or tentative readers, or precocious younger students.
A deceptively simple, tender tale in which respect, resilience, and hope triumph. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-04322-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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