A zippy page-turner.
Endless wishes lead to endless chaos when a boy gets his hands on a powerful magical item in this French import.
Lucas Atomic can’t wait for his 13th birthday, when he’ll finally get his chance to use his family’s prized Gloom Stone, which grants any and every wish. But when his parents decide he’s not mature enough and plan to make him wait another year, Lucas steals the stone and wishes a whole heap of trouble onto himself, his family, and their Atomic Manor (which looks like a tiny ramshackle cottage on the outside but inside is positively palatial). After breaking all three sacred rules (in return for the Gloom Stone’s powers, Lucas’ family promises to uphold the principles of secrecy, wisdom, and kindness), Lucas begs his smart friend Julia Greene for help; his plushie-turned-sentient red panda, Mewmew, serves as sidekick on their quest to set things right. Meanwhile, Lucas’ ancestor Atomic the Fool changes out of his statue form to regain the stone (and turn all of humanity into pigeons). In this fast-paced, absorbing fantasy with real-world trappings (for instance, Julia’s a committed environmentalist), Lucas learns what many wishers before him have: “I always thought that if I had everything I ever wanted, I’d finally be happy…but I just made a mess of everything.” In Carita’s well-composed cartoon artwork, Lucas wears big red-framed glasses; he and his family are pale-skinned, while Julia is brown-skinned with white hair.
A zippy page-turner. (Graphic fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9798881601720
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
Superbly written and illustrated; keeps readers breathless and guessing until the end.
A 22nd-century picaresque with nefarious characters, chosen family, unavoidable camping, and lifesaving butterflies.
It’s 2101, and most mammals have died from sun exposure—a fate the few remaining humans suffer if they don’t live underground as Deepers. Some Deepers are friendly; others will take what they can get by any means necessary. Since Elvie’s parents departed for Michoacán, Mexico, 8 years earlier in search of more monarch butterflies, ran into danger, and have not returned, 10-year-old Black science whiz Elvie has been cared for by her guardian, Flora, a White scientist. Flora and Elvie hope to make a vaccine that enables humans to tolerate sunlight. They struggle to find food, and Flora’s awful cooking sometimes makes their foraged food inedible. Elvie’s journals, which contain her homework, science notes, and sketches, trace their journey—including tracking their latitude and longitude daily—as they follow the amazing migration path of the monarchs, whose young have the ingredient necessary for making both the sun sickness antidote and the vaccine. The eclecticism of Case’s lively visuals in this riveting graphic novel will keep readers both enthralled and learning. The book teaches some astronomy, botany, biology, entomology, animal science, knot tying, and more. Elvie’s special relationship with Flora, along with her quick wit, scientific knowledge, and careful observation skills, makes her a character worth following. Yet she’s all kid—and one who badly wants to be reunited with her parents.
Superbly written and illustrated; keeps readers breathless and guessing until the end. (author's note) (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4260-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
An apocalyptic adventure with a whole lot of heart.
Thirteen-year-old Jack Sullivan and his crew of monster-fighting besties are fresh off their victorious battle against the evil Blarg, but there’s no rest for the weary in the middle of a Monster Apocalypse.
First, Joe’s Pizza has become the local monster hangout. And second, the zombies seem to be disappearing. Thankfully, the white boy, his not-so-secret Latina love, June Del Toro, his African-American, science-nerd best friend, Quint, and pre-apocalypse bully–turned-ally Dirk, a large white boy who loves to garden, befriend a man-monster who might have the answers to everything. Equal parts humor, adventure, and warmth, the book offers fans of the series and new readers alike an entirely agreeable outing. Jack’s witty narration and Holgate’s pitch-perfect illustrations make for a terrific read that’s particularly well suited for middle-grade boys who might otherwise be reluctant to pick up a book. There are plenty of foul-smelling, brain-sucking monsters and gizmos and gadgets to delight, but at its core, this is a story about friendship. Orphaned at birth and raised by a foster family he describes as jerks, Jack has always longed for a family of his own. Now that he has one, the only thing scarier than the monsters is the thought of losing them.
An apocalyptic adventure with a whole lot of heart. (Horror. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-670-01662-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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