THE WOLF HOUR

Name: THE WOLF HOUR
Author: Sara Lewis Holmes
ISBN: 978-0-545-10797-6

by Sara Lewis Holmes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2017

There is a bit too much going on in this convoluted tale, making it difficult for readers to plunge in and fully immerse...

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Little Red Riding Hood meets the Three Little Pigs—literally—in this fairy-tale mashup set in Poland.

Magia lives with her parents, brother, and sister near the Puszcza, a mysterious forest that is greatly feared by villagers—along with the wolves that roam it. Rejecting traditional gender roles, Magia longs to become a woodcutter like Tata. She soon finds more adventure than she bargained for, wandering into the Puszcza alone; caring for a gentle, literate, orphaned wolf cub who also defies convention; battling wits with a bloodthirsty witch; and trying to rescue her family from a terrible enchantment. It emerges that the power-hungry witch holds everyone in thrall—from the little girls she tempts with a red, hooded cape to the three little pigs who just want their mother back—through her manipulation of stories. Although folk tales rely on archetypes, a novel-length fairy-tale fantasy requires more character development than is present here. The only clue to the setting is the sprinkling of Polish words whose origin many young readers may not recognize, with little sense of Polish culture conveyed in other ways. Additionally, neither of the folk tales incorporated into the story is traditionally Polish.

There is a bit too much going on in this convoluted tale, making it difficult for readers to plunge in and fully immerse themselves. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-545-10797-6

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Levine/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

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DELPHINE AND THE DARK THREAD

From the Delphine series , Vol. 2

by Alyssa Moon ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2022

Less charming than the opener but does feature a thimbleful of moral quandary at its center.

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Armed only with her magical sewing needle, foundling mouse Delphine sets out to confront the cruel rat king in this duology closer.

As vicious rat armies pillage the mouse realms in search of her and her pointy, long-hidden treasure, Delphine finds herself waging an inner war that parallels the outer one. According to dusty documents and other reputable sources, the needle’s good powers can be perverted, but she sees no other way except killing to stop evil rat King Midnight. While struggling with a grim determination to go over to the dark side that sets her at odds with her own fundamentally loving nature, Delphine threads her way along with loyal allies past various scrapes—only to come, climactically, face to face with not only her nemesis, but her own past. Moon stitches in flashbacks to fill out the details of a tragic old love triangle that reaches its fruition here and sews her tale up with a return to Château Desjardins just in time for Cinderella’s wedding and a celebratory rodentine ball in the chandelier overhead, and she leaves a fringe of epilogue hinting at further installments to come.

Less charming than the opener but does feature a thimbleful of moral quandary at its center. (secret codes) (Animal fantasy. 10-12)

Pub Date: March 1, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-368-04833-0

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

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THE LAST DRAGON ON MARS

From the Dragonships series , Vol. 1

by Scott Reintgen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2024

Fast-paced dragon flights and mid-space fights—plus underdog heroes who are easy to root for.

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A tenacious 13-year-old battles to save Mars, the only home he knows, in this series opener.

Lunar Jones, called “Dad” by the other orphans at the understaffed, underfunded Martian Relocation Clinic, is a scrapper in the dying Mars settlement, which is ironically named Harvest. Although the atmosphere supports human life, Martian plants, animals, and weather pose threats to survival, and the salvagers risk their lives with every expedition. A century ago, people killed Ares, Mars’ King-Dragon, hoping to make the planet “a paradise. A second version of Earth.” But that plan backfired. After a bloody attack by a rival salvage group, Lunar regains consciousness in an underground bunker, under the care of Gen. John Poppy, who’s secretly rearing a dragon named Dread. Poppy has rallied a group of young people with assorted special skills. Soon Dread will choose his dragoon, the human he bonds with for life. In the world of the story, which is reminiscent of Mad Max and Star Trek, each celestial body has its own dragon avatar. The backstory is fairly well developed, and the short chapters are packed with action. Lunar and some other key characters show positive growth, while the minor characters feel more like types. Lunar presents white; there’s some diversity in race among the supporting cast.

Fast-paced dragon flights and mid-space fights—plus underdog heroes who are easy to root for. (Fantasy. 10-14)