Diamonds are a Wild Boy’s worst enemy in this steampunk romp not intended for the faint—or black—of heart.
Adventure, conspiracy and adrenaline intermingle with dark deeds, devil worship and blood diamonds in this sequel to Wild Boy (2013).
Wild Boy and his acrobat comrade, Clarissa, left the trenches of the circus and its freak show four months ago to reside in St. James’s Palace under the tutelage of Marcus, one of the high-ranking members of the secret crime-fighting group called the Gentlemen. When an attempt is made on the life of Queen Victoria, Wild Boy’s skills of deduction and intellect as well as Clarissa’s athletic prowess are required. The queen and the Gentlemen need them to unearth the cause of a mysterious sickness that blackens veins and sends victims into a stupor of madness before tragic death. Though this is a book about proving one’s worth and disproving public assumption, it isn’t finger-wagging, didactic drivel about not judging book covers. It’s a thrilling, gory, head-rushing adventure. And essential characterization isn’t neglected, as Wild Boy and Clarissa begin to butt heads; he relies on his eyes and instinct, and she relies on her acrobatics and unadulterated bravado, but when it comes to relying on each other, the path gets muddled as the dynamic of their remarkable friendship is tested. Can the duo save all of London from a hellbent killer?
Diamonds are a Wild Boy’s worst enemy in this steampunk romp not intended for the faint—or black—of heart. (Steampunk. 9-14)Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6253-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series.
An orphaned street urchin is recruited into an elite school for thieves.
In an alternate world where France is the dominant world power, 13-year-old Tom Morgan has had to scrimp, starve, and steal on the streets of London to survive. Born into a workhouse, he doesn’t know anything about his father, while his mother may have been from North Africa. One thing he does know is the sort of cruelty that awaits the poor who are sent to the workhouse, and he’s determined not to go back. But when their camp is raided and his friends are captured by workhouse agents, the only thing Tom can think of is how to get them out. Enter the Corsair, a cunning and mysterious man with a proposition: He wants to recruit Tom into Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts. From nabbing treasures to forging identity papers, Beaufort’s promises to teach Tom everything he needs to know to become a Shadow Thief and a member of the Shadow League, the secret global organization that helps keep the world’s political power in balance. But Beaufort’s has its own rules and secrets, and if Tom is to survive long enough to help his friends, he’ll need to figure them out quickly. Clever and gripping, this fast-paced boarding school story will appeal to fans of the Mysterious Benedict Society and Spy School series.
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series. (Adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781665982283
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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