TV viewers may be reminded of the Coneheads on Saturday Night Live (or My Favorite Martian), but this seriocomic,...
A refugee from a doomed planet, a teenage alien attempts—awkwardly—to blend into the landscape of an unsuspecting California town.
In this YA novel, a small family of extraterrestrials, actually reptilian but genetically modified to (hopefully) fit into human society, flees its dying world, concealing its spaceship near the small desert community of Prickly Pear, California. Using forged birth certificates (hinted to be based on Barack Obama’s) and unlikely names, the “Sminths”—mother, Crick; father, Watson; and daughter, Cricket—try to acclimate as newcomers. But their unfamiliarity with human customs and spoken English mark them instantly as oddballs, perhaps Russian. Cricket, who had no choice going on this one-way adventure, is especially moody and defiant (openly eating insects), and she is categorized as learning disabled at her school. The faculty pairs the attractive Cricket—to her discomfort—with a reluctant guardian in the form of another troubled teen, Tom Martinez, who lost his arm in a mysterious accident. Manos (Lucifer’s Revenge, 2012, etc.) has a go at the none-too-fresh YA fantasy trope of a modern-day high school “transfer student” who is actually a fantastic creature (vampire, witch, alien, you choose). Fortunately his grade A storytelling and insights into characterizations make the material enjoyable. With first-person narrative chores shared between Cricket and Tom, there is much culture-shock comedy, incipient romance, and some drama about the Sminths’ fear of discovery. Stock villainy is provided by a bullying biker gang, which overwhelms the tiny local police force, and a suspicious businessman who serves as town mayor. The official has long tried to turn Prickly Pear into a Roswell-level tourist trap with chintzy UFO displays (yet fails to recognize the real thing right in front of him). Even those Disney-esque threats and some too-convenient plot twists are given intelligent treatment by the author, who also expertly captures Cricket’s tart voice: a supersmart nonhuman nonetheless beset by the typical teen rigors of gym class, a school dance, mean girls, hormonal boys, and immigrant parents who are frequently embarrassing in their lack of assimilation. Things never get too dark, and the tone is comfortable for more mature YA readers.
TV viewers may be reminded of the Coneheads on Saturday Night Live (or My Favorite Martian), but this seriocomic, alien-in-school yarn skillfully maintains orbit and comedy-drama equilibrium.Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68046-603-4
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Melange Books - Fire and Ice YA
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An often fun, if simplistic, princess story.
Sidsworth offers a debut picture book about a pink princess who learns a lesson about not always getting what she wants.
When Princess Pamela is born, the queen dresses her in only one color, because “all baby girls should wear pink.” They soon discover that Pamela has developed an excessive fondness for pink; in fact, she won’t accept anything in her life that isn’t that color, including toys, clothes, furniture, flowers and even food. At the age of 3, Pamela announces that she wants a pink puppy, and her parents decide they must find a way to satisfy this absurd request. The entire kingdom tries to help, and in the end, a witch delivers a pink puppy in return for gold. Pamela stops crying and all is well—until she demands a pink horse. A similar search ensues, and the same witch delivers. Pamela delights in her new pony, until a rainstorm comes and washes away the pink coloring, revealing a brown-and-white horse. The king and queen brace themselves for more tears, but to their shock, Pamela realizes that she loves her pony no matter what color he is. In the end, she finally learns that pink isn’t always the answer. The text is simple but not overly so, striking a balance between being manageable and challenging for young readers. The layout’s variety makes for a visually appealing presentation, and the pink capital letters used to begin each page fit perfectly with the overall theme. The book’s lesson is a good one, teaching children that sometimes they need to open their minds to the unexpected. Pamela, however, often comes across as spoiled, and her parents, as overly indulgent. Although Pamela learns her lesson, the ending feels a little too easy, particularly after the story spends so much time setting up Pamela’s obsession with pink and her difficult attitude. The art is full of appealing, cheerful colors, and the cover illustration is brilliant; however, many of the illustrations are drawn in a childlike fashion, particularly those of people and animals. Such images may appeal to young readers, but they also may give the impression of a lack of artistic sophistication.
An often fun, if simplistic, princess story.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-1489513748
Page Count: 44
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An old-fashioned fantasy, but younger readers seeking a new world to explore may enjoy its classic feel.
In Rivera’s epic debut YA fantasy novel, a group of children faces off against an evil ice queen.
At the novel’s outset, a group of children plans a daring escape from the Ice Queen’s prison. At first, the story’s 11-year-old hero, John, doesn’t feel up to the task, but his unlikely friendship with a talking rat teaches him that he may have latent talents, including the ability to illuminate himself and summon an otherworldly power. He eventually helps his friends out of many dire situations. In their journey from the Ice Queen’s palace to the home of the Fire King, they encounter many challenges and adventures, meet extraordinary creatures and learn more about the pasts that the Ice Queen wiped from their memories. Although one of the children perishes along the way (and others turn against their friends), the group manages to survive against the odds. It’s unclear who the target audience for this book is, although it’s apparently aimed at an older middle-grade or younger YA audience. There are suggestions that the young characters are in their teens (and some hints of romance), but the text repeatedly refers to them as “kids,” and they speak in a somewhat hokey dialect; some phrases, such as “Stop being such a square,” seem to have been borrowed from a 1950s sitcom. The relationships between the boys and girls are also somewhat old-fashioned: The boys always seem to be the heroes, while the girls tend to be mere love interests. For example, when the kids are forced to choose between two factions, readers are told that a girl named Pippy “had a crush on Rob, so she would go to whichever side he had chosen.” (Shortly after this scene, helpless Pippy runs away after she’s overwhelmed by having to make a decision.) However, although the book is on the long side, it moves along quickly, with lots of action and new dangers to threaten the intrepid children, and its ending leaves room for a sequel.
An old-fashioned fantasy, but younger readers seeking a new world to explore may enjoy its classic feel.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2013
ISBN: 978-0988739321
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Jonathan Rivera
Review Posted Online: Jan. 6, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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