Beleaguered middle school troll Zarf gets a chance to show his true mettle when the Big Bad Wolf’s motorcycle-riding minions take the Littlepig family hostage in this sequel to The Trouble with Weasels (2014).
Following a mysterious local mutton shortage and a wild chase after an ungainly substitute math teacher who turns out to be a wolf in an ill-fitting sheep suit comes news that Littlepig Manor has been taken over. Zarf goes pelting to the rescue—temporarily disguised, thanks to an inexpertly applied body-switching spell, as a wolf. Harrell tells the tale Wimpy Kid–style with punch lines, much of the dialogue, and snarky asides (not to mention sight gags and significant looks) delivered by a cast of deadpan cartoon figures. Significant help from allies, notably dreamboat classmate Sierra Scarlet and Goldie Locks, a lunch lady with several unusual skills, leads at last to a dramatic escape and, for Big Bad, a long spell in a “maximum-security dungeon.” Before and after all the heroics, Zarf shrugs off a steady barrage of anti-troll pranks instigated by royal classmate Prince Roquefort (“a jerky little snot-basket”), and along with showing fair measures of courage and smarts, in the clutch he also keeps a firm handle throughout on the anger issues that beset his trollish kind.
A most admirable troll, notwithstanding the big floppy ears and flyaway orange hair. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 10-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8037-41041
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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A San Diego preteen learns that she’s an elf, with a place in magic school if she moves to the elves’ hidden realm.
Having felt like an outsider since a knock on the head at age 5 left her able to read minds, Sophie is thrilled when hunky teen stranger Fitz convinces her that she’s not human at all and transports her to the land of Lumenaria, where the ageless elves live. Taken in by a loving couple who run a sanctuary for extinct and mythical animals, Sophie quickly gathers friends and rivals at Foxfire, a distinctly Hogwarts-style school. She also uncovers both clues to her mysterious origins and hints that a rash of strangely hard-to-quench wildfires back on Earth are signs of some dark scheme at work. Though Messenger introduces several characters with inner conflicts and ambiguous agendas, Sophie herself is more simply drawn as a smart, radiant newcomer who unwillingly becomes the center of attention while developing what turn out to be uncommonly powerful magical abilities—reminiscent of the younger Harry Potter, though lacking that streak of mischievousness that rescues Harry from seeming a little too perfect. The author puts her through a kidnapping and several close brushes with death before leaving her poised, amid hints of a higher destiny and still-anonymous enemies, for sequels.
Wholesome shading to bland, but well-stocked with exotic creatures and locales, plus an agreeable cast headed by a child who, while overly fond of screaming, rises to every challenge. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4593-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
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The new kid in school endures becoming the school mascot.
Ben Hardy has never cared for potatoes, and this distaste has become a barrier to adjusting to life in his new Idaho town. His school’s mascot is the Spud, and after a series of misfortunes, Ben is enlisted to don the potato costume and cheer on his school’s team. Ben balances his duties as a life-sized potato against his desperate desire to hide the fact that he’s the dork in the suit. After all, his cute new crush, Jayla, wouldn’t be too impressed to discover Ben’s secret. The ensuing novel is a fairly boilerplate middle–grade narrative: snarky tween protagonist, the crush that isn’t quite what she seems, and a pair of best friends that have more going on than our hero initially believes. The author keeps the novel moving quickly, pushing forward with witty asides and narrative momentum so fast that readers won’t really mind that the plot’s spine is one they’ve encountered many times before. Once finished, readers will feel little resonance and move on to the next book in their to-read piles, but in the moment the novel is pleasant enough. Ben, Jayla, and Ben’s friend Hunter are white while Ellie, Ben’s other good pal, is Latina.
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11866-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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