A ghostly good time.
Middle school medium Baylor develops dreamwalking abilities—but not without complications.
An unfavorable online article about the white 13-year-old humorously recaps highlights of Baylor’s Guide to the Other Side (2016) in the voice of a fake-news–y type with a grudge. Baylor’s dead twin sister, Kristina, and the British ghost Col. Fleetwood decide Baylor needs a protective amulet; they use the already-powerful talisman stone from the first book. Wearing it, Baylor has strange, lucid dreams that aren’t actually his; he’s entering his loved ones’ dreams. But he also is reaching some strangers, which shouldn’t be possible: an olive-skinned Greek girl and a dark-skinned Haitian boy, lost together at sea and running out of time. By night Baylor works on how to locate these missing teens, and during the day he deals with other subplots. These include his younger brother’s isolation (the other second-graders are afraid of Baylor), his best friend’s insecurity (discovered in a dream Baylor really shouldn’t have peeked in at; his friend uses a dreamcatcher to prevent further snooping), the spiteful journalist, and even family drama just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. The emotional stakes of the plots closer to home pair well with the very real physical dangers faced by the shipwrecked teens and the race against the clock to save them. Further changes in Baylor’s powers indicate things are happening in the Beyond for another book.
A ghostly good time. (Paranormal adventure. 10-15)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6639-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
A brainy, satisfying assemblage of puzzles with an immensely likable protagonist.
Winter in the inn above the River Skidwrack finds Milo and his parents hosting several guests who are not what they seem—and a mystery to be solved.
Just before Christmas Greenglass House is filled with unexpected visitors. A young man who claims to be an art student, studying the famous stained-glass windows of the house, is the sole guest until Georgie and Clem, young women who met the year before at Greenglass House, arrive. They’ve recently pulled off a caper, recovering a stash belonging to legendary smuggler Violet Cross. They hoped to find Cross’ derrotero, an incalculably valuable nautical map of the impossible, changing River Skidwrack. And then a troupe of midwinter revelers arrives in a kind of Morris-dancing tradition, singing carols and traveling with the horned skull of a hobby horse and a chimney sweep. Milo and his parents invite the carolers in, but a ceremonial chimney cleaning results in an overnight stay—and the game is afoot. Milford’s clever, complex plot is full of humor, tantalizing clues, and stories within the story. Adopted Milo, who has become conscious of the ways the world assumes things about him and his Chinese heritage, takes on a new hero persona that offers him confidence and insight into his emotions and strengths.
A brainy, satisfying assemblage of puzzles with an immensely likable protagonist. (Mystery/fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-99146-0
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
An almost-orphan and a rescue dog share lots of heart in a winsome coming-of-age story.
After her mother succumbs to heart disease, 13-year-old Lydia goes to live with her mother’s older sister, Aunt Brat, and her wife, Eileen, in their small Connecticut town.
Almost immediately the loving couple adopts a large rescue dog that becomes mostly Lydia’s responsibility. The unfortunate animal isn’t even housebroken, and Lydia’s most decidedly not a dog person, so caring for Guffer is challenging. So is trying to be cordial—but not too friendly—with her 12 eighth grade classmates. Previously home-schooled, Lydia’s not quite ready for the friend thing. Secrets, like who could have been responsible for maiming two baby goats or why Brat is secretly caring for them at a neighbor’s farm, complicate life. Background plotlines (an angry neighbor who hates Guffer, Lydia’s absent father, and the cause of Guffer’s anxieties) all gradually evolve. Similarly, Lydia slowly learns to cope with her grief, sometimes aided by spending time with “the goddesses”—artistic collages of strong women that she and her mother crafted. Gentle, fully fleshed characters (most seemingly white) are lovingly drawn in this long tale of healing, but the pacing is sometimes frustratingly slow. Although she’s clearly intelligent, Lydia’s first-person narrative often seems more like the voice of an adult than a young teen. In spite of these minor flaws, her poignant tale is engaging and uplifting.
An almost-orphan and a rescue dog share lots of heart in a winsome coming-of-age story. (Fiction.10-13)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-279678-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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