Excruciating, cathartic, and triumphant.
Near-future science-fiction crimes bleed into dystopian horror centuries later in a wildly imaginative genre-hybrid sequel to Archivist Wasp (2015).
For three years, Isabel (ex-Archivist and no longer going by “Wasp”) and the former shrine girls have gradually created a home; now savage invaders force them to fight to defend it. While hiding refugees in tunnels buried since the Before, Isabel again encounters the ghosts of a nameless, long-dead supersoldier and his partner. Instead of passing peacefully on to the afterlife, the ghosts are seeking their lost memories of the Latchkey Project that engineered them, secrets that could guarantee Isabel’s future…or destroy it. Less mythic in tone and more conventional in structure than the first, this title nonetheless delivers gripping action while deepening mysteries in restrained prose studded with flashes of vulgar brutality and startling poetry. Isabel’s post-apocalyptic world, with all its graphic violence and cruelty, still exhibits solidarity, tenderness, and joy. Allusions to names of varying ethnicities and a range of skin tones indicate an unobtrusive diversity. The emotional core of the story resides in the magnificently understated relationship between damaged, heartsick Isabel and the arrogant yet oddly fragile ghost, a kinship forged from their shared raw courage, ferocious loyalty, and bone-deep integrity, punctuated by an uncertain, heart-piercing vulnerability. Although this narrative provides satisfying closure, readers will hope for more about these unlikely allies.
Excruciating, cathartic, and triumphant. (Science fiction/horror. 12-adult)Pub Date: July 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9889124-8-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Mythic Delirium
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An intriguing, if not always emotionally engaging, story of a serious teen problem.
Somers’ debut young-adult novel follows a teenage boy from sickness to tenuous health as he battles an eating disorder and the problems that helped create it.
Nathan is a typical teen with typical problems, including an unhappy family life and romantic disappointment, but he’s got an unhealthy “solution” for dealing with them: starving and purging himself. His descent into bulimia and anorexia occurs quite quickly; it starts with Nathan taking short bike rides to get away from his domineering father and alcoholic mother, and soon he’s inducing vomiting; not long afterward, he’s admitted to an eating-disorder program, at which point the book seems to find its center. Nathan is the only boy in his unit, a fact that his status-obsessed parents find it hard to understand; in fact, as the book makes clear, boys make up 10 percent of those who suffer from eating disorders. Somers’ novel never falls into “after-school special” territory, but it has a clear message. Nathan is depicted as a smart, cynical teenager, but his trials are sometimes more informative than heart-wrenching. The short chapters, complete with bad teenage poetry, keep the story moving, and Nathan’s dad, mom and nurse all get at least one chance to tell their side of the story. But although these multiple points of view are interesting, they may distract readers from Nathan’s personal trials. Also, the novel sometimes gets bogged down in eating-disorder program protocol; for example, a plan to interrupt Nathan’s family therapy takes two pages of emails, rather than a line or two of dialogue.
An intriguing, if not always emotionally engaging, story of a serious teen problem.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-0988367203
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Rundy Hill Press LLC
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A clever series starter sure to leave readers wanting more Peas and Hambone adventures.
A boy and his dog face off against a horde of zombie gorillas in this action-packed adventure by debut author Nichols.
Peter, whose nickname is “Peas,” is an ordinary 10-year-old kid with an extraordinary dog named Hambone. The dog walks and talks like a human but only when he’s alone with Peas, and he gives Hobbes (of Bill Watterson’s famous Calvin and Hobbes comic strip) a run for his money. Snarky troublemaker Hambone is determined to get even with a gorilla who threw “dirt” at him, so he and Peter break into the zoo early one morning. As they try to determine which gorilla is Hambone’s nemesis, they stumble upon an evil plot: One of the gorillas (whom Peas nicknames “Evil Doctor Crazy Gorilla”) gives the other gorillas a smoky green potion that turns them into zombies. Peas and Hambone are the only ones who stand between humanity and the zombie gorilla incursion, aside from crazy Mr. Oswalt, who’s so obsessed with World War I that he pilots a Sopwith Camel biplane around the neighborhood, and the Mama’s Boys biker gang, which fights with foam swords and squirt guns. Peas, who’s seen a lot of scary movies, knows that where there’s a potion, there must be an antidote. Hambone, who suffered a “childhood trauma involving the movie King Kong,” has a serious hatred of gorillas and zombies, and he comes up with the plan that eventually leads them to the mad scientist’s lair. Peas and Hambone’s first outing, full of chase scenes, absurd combat, cross-dressing and gross-out humor, is a madcap adventure sure to appeal to fans of Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants books and Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The vocabulary and pacing are well-suited to reluctant readers, and Nichols’ silly, coined phrases (such as “whup-butt” and “Oh-my-shnippies!”) are catchy enough that kids might adopt them.
A clever series starter sure to leave readers wanting more Peas and Hambone adventures.Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-615-87100-4
Page Count: 120
Publisher: SecretSquirrel Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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