New setting, same sorts of adventures will be the script for each volume, but fans will get hooked on the mysteriousness of...
In the second of the seven-volume Seven Wonders series, Jack McKinley seeks the second of seven stolen Loculi of Atlantis, magical orbs planted in each one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Jack, Aly Black, Cass Williams and Marco Ramsay are genetic time bombs, each having G7W, a gene that will kill them at age 14 if they don’t find the seven Loculi. In The Colossus Rises (2013), they found the Loculus for flight in the Colossus of Rhodes, and now they’re searching for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Jack’s narrative, slow at first, becomes an Indiana Jones–style adventure into ancient Babylon. The foursome faces a giant lizard-monster, monkeylike creatures with lethal spit and a cloaked apparition with one shining eye. What they hadn’t bargained for is a conflict over which secret organization they should be working for—the Karai Institute or the group of fanatic monks from Greece they encountered in the last book. The conflict adds complexity to the tale, and the final sentence holds a huge surprise, which will excite readers about the next installment even as it frustrates them. Seven Wonders Journal: The Select is available as an e-book prequel for those who crave more.
New setting, same sorts of adventures will be the script for each volume, but fans will get hooked on the mysteriousness of it all. (Adventure. 8-14)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-207043-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
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 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
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