A fun, superpowerful story of what’s worth fighting for.
Twelve-year-old Pax Samson has a supersized legacy to live up to, but he often prefers a simpler life in the kitchen.
Everyone in the whole Samson family is a superhero, and Grandma is perhaps the world’s best. Still, even she acknowledges that a new generation needs to be groomed and prepared for what the planet Soltellus and the precarious Tri-City partnership may face. Pax is still prone to mistakes, but Grandma and the rest of the family—Pax’s doting superparents, his adopted, not-quite-human big sis, time-traveling Aunty, and even his pestering, shirtless wonder of an older cousin—believe in his potential for heroics almost as much as they love his dragon noodle soup and his other culinary triumphs. Pax, however, doesn’t always believe in himself, and it’ll take learning of his family’s history fighting against enslavement, fascists, and the long-standing prejudices of Soltellus to inspire him to pave his own path. Doucet and Reeves tell a vibrant, action-packed story of a rather special brown boy and his big family, but before good and evil face off, nuance is presented in the impressive worldbuilding and thoughtful reflection on racial biases readers will find both different to our own world and familiar. Like the title’s reference to a Black American tradition, this series starter of a graphic novel features accessible yet unmistakably cultural humor throughout—some of it, sadly, on the ableist side.
A fun, superpowerful story of what’s worth fighting for. (Graphic fantasy. 8-14)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-62010-851-2
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Oni Press
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Brilliant.
Young heroes rise to the challenge of protecting their home, family, and world when a new villain threatens the Glimouria Archipelago and the Immortal in this third series entry.
“New trouble” comes to the sanctuary of Glimt when Irian Guinne is kidnapped and Teren, the young Immortal, is threatened. Christopher Forrester, former princess Anya, jaculus dragon Jacques, and ratatoska navigator Ratwin undertake a series of herculean tasks to fulfill the kidnappers’ demands and free Irian, all without Nighthand’s knowledge or help. Christopher seeks knowledge from Naravirala the sphinx to understand his new, deeper connection to creatures (“It is the people you love who anchor you”), while Anya leans into her warrior nature (“What if I was born to be brave?”). Meanwhile, bandits with ouroboros bracelets pillage and burn across the Archipelago at the command of Astor Morax, and a fearsome tiger spies through mirrors. The white-presenting leads’ quest to save Irian is central, but brief sections visit Irian, Nighthand, and beautiful, deadly Carla Venasque. The climactic Battle of Glimt features ferocity, cleverness, sacrifice, and bravery, and the ending is more Shakespearean comedy than tragedy—but the danger to Teren is not over, leaving eager readers to await the fourth installment. This is a perfectly paced, mythology-laced tale of action, adventure, and heart that reminds readers that “the only thing stronger than fear is love, unceasingly and exultantly given.” Final art not seen.
Brilliant. (map, bestiary) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9780593809945
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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