Well-trodden ground with a few fun surprises.
Can a young boy with a big imagination really save the day?
In a world where superheroes (and supervillains) exist, Wally Crenshaw lives in his tiny New Jersey town of Crumbly-by-the-Sea. Crumbly is a modern anomaly with its odd pattern of cell, internet, and cable services that are operational only two hours a day. Wally lives with his widowed mother and idolizes the Justice Brigade, dreaming of joining the team as the self-named superhero Whiz Kid. His imagination runs wild, and too many false calls have made local law enforcement regard him as an unreliable witness. When a villain known as the Accelerator is thought to be in Crumbly, Wally’s greatest fears and hopes are realized as both superheroes and feds converge. However, this small town may be hiding some very big secrets: Can Wally truly become a superhero and help his town? Kupperberg’s yarn is packed with twists and turns and a cinematic panache (and a healthy helping of action and high-tech gadgetry) that most comics fans will appreciate. However, the action can come across as derivative, seemingly taking cues from well-known franchise storylines. Wally’s characterization tends toward boilerplate: an underdog boy who ultimately achieves what he most desires, overcoming adversity through optimism. Wally and most of the characters default to White.
Well-trodden ground with a few fun surprises. (Superhero fantasy. 8-11)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-937868-85-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Heliosphere Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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
© Copyright 2026 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.
