A disappointing reinvention of beloved characters.
Set in modern-day Boston, this first in a new series chronicles the interactions between high school age Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis, James Moriarty.
Moria, James’ younger sister, narrates, chronicling the first clashes between the famous archrivals. James, already angry at being forced to attend Baskerville Academy according to family tradition, is further enraged when he is paired with Sherlock Holmes for a roommate. Sherlock is prideful and talks too much, and true to character, he is unapologetic for his intellect. When the Moriarty family Bible goes missing from its display case, the school is put into lockdown. Both James and Sherlock believe that the administration’s extreme reaction is proof that the Bible holds secret information. But while Sherlock applies his intellect to the mystery, James relies on deception and bullying. Lengthy narrative passages and long-winded monologues slow down the action. And although Moria and Sherlock’s budding romance is sweet, their endless banter is both repetitive and exhausting. Further, James’ sudden shift in character from loving brother to cruel criminal mastermind–in-training is abrupt and unsupported. It is never clear why he hates Sherlock so much, which makes him seem like a petulant child rather than an evil genius. Though the Moriartys are now Boston Brahmins, Pearson does not deviate so far from canon as to depict his leads as anything other than white.
A disappointing reinvention of beloved characters. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-239901-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
Fade to black and cue the applause!
From Selznick’s ever-generative mind comes a uniquely inventive story told in text, sequential art and period photographs and film.
Orphaned Hugo survives secretly in a Parisian train station (circa 1930). Obsessed with reconstructing a broken automaton, Hugo is convinced that it will write a message from his father that will save his life. Caught stealing small mechanical repair parts from the station’s toy shop, Hugo’s life intersects with the elderly shop owner and his goddaughter, Isabelle. The children are drawn together in solving the linked mysteries of the automaton and the identity of the artist, illusionist and pioneer filmmaker, Georges Méliès, long believed dead. Discovering that Isabelle’s godfather is Méliès, the two resurrect his films, his reputation and assure Hugo’s future. Opening with cinematic immediacy, a series of drawings immerses readers in Hugo’s mysterious world. Exquisitely chosen art sequences are sometimes stopped moments, sometimes moments of intense action and emotion. The book, an homage to early filmmakers as dreammakers, is elegantly designed to resemble the flickering experience of silent film melodramas.
Fade to black and cue the applause! (notes, film credits) (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-439-81378-6
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2007
SEEN & HEARD
Bland and disappointing.
Two brothers set off down old Route 66 on a treasure hunt orchestrated by an eccentric puzzle maker.
The former closeness between 12-year-old Ben, who’s self-conscious about his weight, and his athletic 18-year-old brother, Ethan, may be long gone, but the prospect of a $1,000,000 reward offered by renowned puzzle queen Penelope Pennypickle is enough to get them heading off together in search of clues deposited at roadside attractions along the historic highway. Ms. Pennypacker’s dictum that “The family that puzzles together stays together” proves to be the main clue to what Grabenstein is up to. While joined by competing pairs in a series of elimination rounds, the siblings work to solve a series of riddles and challenges while stopping at sites from the Pops 66 Soda Ranch to Cadillac Ranch and Petrified Forest National Park—and, in the process, the bond between them regains its old strength. The puzzles offer readers something fun to engage with, and the local color, plus the author’s affirmation of the importance of family ties and the vigorous way he deals with the fat shaming that Ben receives, are worthy. But his bid to recapture some of the Mr. Lemoncello magic falls afoul of an overly contrived plot and minimally developed character interactions. Readers may also feel cheated by the resolution, which falls flat. Most characters present white.
Bland and disappointing. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9780593707982
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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