by Rodman Philbrick ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2017
A smart and worthy mystery.
In a typical Philbrick (The Big Dark, 2016, etc.) combination of humor and insight, two kids become unlikely partners in detection.
In this comfortable whodunit for readers discovering the genre, genius white orphan Darius takes the role of lead investigator, while fat white kid Arthur Bash narrates the unfolding plot. “Thug-for-hire” Arthur, also known as Bash Man, plays the role of class heavy, taking payment in candy bars from kids who want someone scared. Darius offers Arthur three Snickers bars to win his protection as he investigates the note—written in blood—asking, “Who killed Darius Drake?” Soon both boys are headed into the scary Stompanado projects and confronting the legendary Scar Man. It’s all somehow connected to the mysterious disappearance of a diamond necklace estimated to be worth $15 million. With the addition of Deirdre, Arthur’s bubbly white stepsister, the detective team is off and running through libraries and official records as well as contacting a local historian. Frighteningly perilous encounters ensue. While readers will ID the bad guy, there are enough red herrings to keep them engaged along the way. Throughout, it becomes clear to both readers and kids that the old saw Arthur quotes, “never judge a book by its cover,” applies to all concerned: smarter-than-he-acts Arthur, frightening Scar Man, and their down-and-out postindustrial town—Philbrick’s interrogations of class assumptions are pointed.
A smart and worthy mystery. (Mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-78978-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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by K.R. Alexander ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 7, 2022
Thrills galore for gamers willing to go along for the ride.
A new virtual-reality theme park goes haywire on a crowd of young victims, er, visitors in Alexander’s latest screamfest.
Having scored one of just 100 coveted preview tickets to a cutting-edge, kids-only venue dubbed ESCAPE, budding amusement park fan and designer Cody Baxter is looking forward to a life-changing experience. What he gets is more of a life-threatening one, as games and rides with names like Triassic Terror and Haunted Hillside not only pit him against a monster and then zombies—or sometimes a monster and zombies—as well as ruthless competing players, but seem tailored to play on individual personal terrors. And, in some never explained way, the VR quickly turns into real battles that inflict real wounds even as the real settings shift with sudden, dizzying unpredictability. Teaming up with loyal new friends Jayson Torn and Inga Andersdottir, the former described as being Japanese and White and the latter as Norwegian, Cody (who seems to default to White) struggles for survival, learning ultimately that ESCAPE was created by an evil genius with an ulterior motive who is convinced that he can teach children a salutary lesson. The plot’s no more logical in its twists and contrivances than the premise, but the author’s knack for spinning out nightmarish situations is definitely on display here as the tale careens toward a properly lurid outcome.
Thrills galore for gamers willing to go along for the ride. (Light horror. 9-12)Pub Date: June 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-26047-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2022
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by Lamar Giles ; illustrated by Dapo Adeola ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2019
This can’t be the last we ever hear of the Legendary Alston Boys of the purely surreal Logan County—imaginative,...
Can this really be the first time readers meet the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County? Cousins and veteran sleuths Otto and Sheed Alston show us that we are the ones who are late to their greatness.
These two black boys are coming to terms with the end of their brave, heroic summer at Grandma’s, with a return to school just right around the corner. They’ve already got two keys to the city, but the rival Epic Ellisons—twin sisters Wiki and Leen—are steadily gaining celebrity across Logan County, Virginia, and have in hand their third key to the city. No way summer can end like this! These young people are powerful, courageous, experienced adventurers molded through their heroic commitment to discipline and deduction. They’ve got their shared, lifesaving maneuvers committed to memory (printed in a helpful appendix) and ready to save any day. Save the day they must, as a mysterious, bendy gentleman and an oversized, clingy platypus have been unleashed on the city of Fry, and all the residents and their belongings seem to be frozen in time and place. Will they be able to solve this one? With total mastery, Giles creates in Logan County an exuberant vortex of weirdness, where the commonplace sits cheek by jowl with the utterly fantastic, and populates it with memorable characters who more than live up to their setting.
This can’t be the last we ever hear of the Legendary Alston Boys of the purely surreal Logan County—imaginative, thrill-seeking readers, this is a series to look out for. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-46083-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Versify/HMH
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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