An intriguing mystery that doesn’t offer much more than thrills but should still serve as a solid base for future adventures...
The fast-paced first installment in a new YA mystery series.
Bun, a precocious 14-year-old Australian, comes home to a horrific sight—his mother gravely injured after falling down the stairs and “a fiery red mark in the shape of a handprint stain[ing] her left cheek.” She manages to whisper in his ear: “Your mother loved you,” but then, “N-no…your mother—in the flour bin.” With the help of plucky friend Katie—who “dress[es] like a scarecrow sometimes” but “looked like she owned the world”—Bun unravels this eerie clue and stumbles upon a disturbing family secret. Eventually, an old American passport and a beautiful gold necklace confirm that he is not related to his brutish father or mean-spirited brothers. In fact, he’s not even Australian. His real name is William Thomas Buntain II, of New York City. Katie and Bun make a run for the Big Apple to search for his biological parents and piece together how Bun ended up in Australia. The first person they meet, Silas, is a smooth-talking cabdriver with a constantly changing accent and knack for arriving out of nowhere just when they’re in danger. He’s either their guardian angel or part of the expanding list of people hunting Bun for reasons he doesn’t understand. In New York City, it seems like behind every corner there is someone waiting to grab him: “There was only one thing he was quite sure about. If he was going to survive long enough to solve the mystery he had to get moving—now.” Collins creates compulsive reading through huge revelations and frequent shocking incidents, but the pace becomes exhausting after a while and makes the story feel too outlandish. Bun and Katie never stay in one place long enough for Collins to cover anything other than chase scenes and plot development; for instance, Bun seems to forget about the death of his adopted mother for about a week. Still, younger readers will be drawn in by the excellent use of suspense, well-crafted action sequences and an abrupt end, which nicely sets the stage for a sequel.
An intriguing mystery that doesn’t offer much more than thrills but should still serve as a solid base for future adventures in the series.Pub Date: Feb. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-1494258092
Page Count: 186
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A solid series starter for tinkerers and adventurers alike.
Even robot cats have a mind of their own.
All 12-year-old Canadian Lacey Chu’s ever wanted was to become a companioneer like her idol, Monica Chan, co-founder of the largest tech firm in North America, Moncha Corp., and mastermind behind the baku. Bakus, “robotic pets with all the features of a smartphone,” revolutionized society and how people interact with technology. As a companioneer, Lacey could work on bakus: designing, innovating, and building. When she receives a grant rejection from Profectus Academy of Science and Technology, a school that guarantees employment at Moncha Corp., she’s devastated. A happenstance salvaging of a mangled cat baku might just change the game. Suddenly, Lacey’s got an in with Profectus and is one step closer to her dream. Jinx, however, is not quite like the other bakus—he’s a wild cat that does things without commands. Together with Jinx, Lacey will have to navigate competitive classmates and unsettling corporate secrets. McCulloch effectively strikes a balance between worldbuilding and action. High-stakes baku battles demonstrate the emotional bond between (robotic) pet and owner. Readers will also connect to the relationships the Asian girl forges with her diverse classmates, including a rivalry with Carter (a white boy who’s the son of Moncha’s other co-founder, Eric Smith), a burgeoning crush on student Tobias, who’s black, and evolving friendships new and old. While some mysteries are solved, a cliffhanger ending raises even more for the next installment.
A solid series starter for tinkerers and adventurers alike. (Science fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8374-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face.
Four misunderstood villains endeavor to turn over a new leaf…or a new rap sheet in Blabey's frenzied romp.
As readers open the first page of this early chapter book, Mr. Wolf is right there to greet them, bemoaning his reputation. "Just because I've got BIG POINTY TEETH and RAZOR-SHARP CLAWS and I occasionally like to dress up like an OLD LADY, that doesn't mean… / … I'm a BAD GUY." To prove this very fact, Mr. Wolf enlists three equally slandered friends into the Good Guys Club: Mr. Snake (aka the Chicken Swallower), Mr. Piranha (aka the Butt Biter), and Mr. Shark (aka Jaws). After some convincing from Mr. Wolf, the foursome sets off determined to un-smirch their names (and reluctantly curbing their appetites). Although these predators find that not everyone is ready to be at the receiving end of their helpful efforts, they use all their Bad Guy know-how to manage a few hilarious good deeds. Blabey has hit the proverbial nail on the head, kissed it full on the mouth, and handed it a stick of Acme dynamite. With illustrations that startle in their manic comedy and deadpan direct address and with a narrative that follows four endearingly sardonic characters trying to push past (sometimes successfully) their fear-causing natures, this book instantly joins the classic ranks of Captain Underpants and The Stinky Cheese Man.
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-91240-2
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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