JT Turnbull and 200 children are about to land on the interstellar multi-species commerce hub of Orbis. The children have been alone in space all their lives: When the adults on the Earth ship Renaissance died of an illness 12 years ago, the computer brought the colonists’ frozen embryos to term. JT and the children have been raised by the ship’s computer (and—inexplicably, given the absence of any other people—have developed 20th-century mores and gender biases). When they arrive on Orbis, they discover to their horror that their parents’ agreement with the Citizens of Orbis leaves the children in indentured servitude to unpleasant Star Wars–style aliens. The aliens fight for the right to control JT, who is a Softwire, an extremely rare being who can mentally communicate with computers. When the ancient computer that controls Orbis begins to fail, the Citizens suspect JT, who must clear himself while protecting his friends and family. A potentially compelling space mystery marred by inept prose and a muddled narrative. (Science fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7636-2709-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
Readers will need to strap on their helmets and prepare for a wild ride.
Disaster overtakes a group of sixth graders on a leadership-building white-water rafting trip.
Deep in the Montana wilderness, a dam breaks, and the resultant rush sweeps away both counselors, the rafts, and nearly all the supplies, leaving five disparate preteens stranded in the wilderness far from where they were expected to be. Narrator Daniel is a mild White kid who’s resourceful and good at keeping the peace but given to worrying over his mentally ill father. Deke, also White, is a determined bully, unwilling to work with and relentlessly taunting the others, especially Mia, a Latina, who is a natural leader with a plan. Tony, another White boy, is something of a friendly follower and, unfortunately, attaches himself to Deke while Imani, a reserved African American girl, initially keeps her distance. After the disaster, Deke steals the backpack with the remaining food and runs off with Tony, and the other three resolve to do whatever it takes to get it back, eventually having to confront the dangerous bully. The characters come from a variety of backgrounds but are fairly broadly drawn; still, their breathlessly perilous situation keeps the tale moving briskly forward, with one threatening situation after another believably confronting them. As he did with Wildfire (2019), Newbery Honoree Philbrick has crafted another action tale for young readers that’s impossible to put down.
Readers will need to strap on their helmets and prepare for a wild ride. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-64727-3
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
This modest, agreeable entry in the My First Look At series shows the life cycle of a mallard duck nesting in an urban park. The text is cumulative, so the line on the first page, “This is the park where Paul plays,” is echoed on the second, “These are the ducks that swim in the park where Paul plays.” In the spring the ducks arrive; they grow all summer long, and fly away in the autumn. Listeners will enjoy the spare, rhythmic telling, while the softly colored drawings of Paul, a shaggy-haired preschooler, are appealing. Additional information, obviously aimed at older readers or for adults to share with children, appears under the flap on each page. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-55074-613-8
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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