Delightful.
A school trip to a legendary island uncovers more than hidden treasure for Tom Morgan, who’s in his second year at Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts.
After the release of the deadly Crimson Flu virus at his boarding school, Tom and his housemates are whisked away by their housemaster, the Corsair, on a tall ship bound for Isle Tête de Mort, or the Island of Skulls, where they’ll continue their quarantine. The island fortress of an old Shadow League leader, Antoine Bonaparte, the Duke of Nîmes, the hideout has been deserted for years, ever since the duke was assassinated and his château blown up by Shadow Assassins hoping to protect the world from the duke’s deadly ambition. But there are rumors about what remains hidden there: a treasure trove of jewels, secret documents, and details of the duke’s ultimate weapon for conquering the world. As Tom (whose mother was Egyptian and father is unknown) begins to search for the treasure with his housemates, it’s initially just another training exercise presented by the Corsair. But when the Chevaliers, followers of the duke, arrive on the island looking for the plans for the secret weapon, it will take all of Tom’s skills as a thief to get there before they do. Fast-paced and fun with plenty of hijinks, this skillful sequel expands on the worldbuilding. The pirate theme, with its codes and ciphers, adds an appealing layer of intrigue.
Delightful. (Adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9781665982344
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series.
An orphaned street urchin is recruited into an elite school for thieves.
In an alternate world where France is the dominant world power, 13-year-old Tom Morgan has had to scrimp, starve, and steal on the streets of London to survive. Born into a workhouse, he doesn’t know anything about his father, while his mother may have been from North Africa. One thing he does know is the sort of cruelty that awaits the poor who are sent to the workhouse, and he’s determined not to go back. But when their camp is raided and his friends are captured by workhouse agents, the only thing Tom can think of is how to get them out. Enter the Corsair, a cunning and mysterious man with a proposition: He wants to recruit Tom into Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts. From nabbing treasures to forging identity papers, Beaufort’s promises to teach Tom everything he needs to know to become a Shadow Thief and a member of the Shadow League, the secret global organization that helps keep the world’s political power in balance. But Beaufort’s has its own rules and secrets, and if Tom is to survive long enough to help his friends, he’ll need to figure them out quickly. Clever and gripping, this fast-paced boarding school story will appeal to fans of the Mysterious Benedict Society and Spy School series.
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series. (Adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781665982283
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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