by Sean Adelman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2012
Aside from some overly didactic dialogue, kids will relate to Sam and her journal, and the characters and themes offer much...
Plotlines abound, including kidnapping and catching crooks, in Adelman’s work of fiction for chapter-book and middle-grade readers.
Sam, 13, attends middle school in Seattle. She’s on the basketball team, participates in school plays and volunteers at the local community center. She has Down syndrome, which she doesn’t seem concerned about. That she’s an uber-active young teen with developmental differences isn’t hard to swallow; the suburban shuffle from one organized activity to another will ring true for most kids. Unfortunately, some of the dialogue and descriptions won’t, such as when, after a loss, Sam’s basketball coach blandly asserts, “These kids make a great team and they’ll win other games.” Fortunately, the adults are relegated to supporting roles in Sam’s life. Via her diary entries and conversations, readers learn that Sam looks forward to a visit from her Uncle Alex, who is serving in Iraq. Although she’s counting the days until he arrives, she has plenty to do in the meantime. While volunteering at the community center, she grows fond of Michael, a soldier who returned from combat in Iraq after suffering a traumatic brain injury. Sam also encounters some rough characters at the community center. Although she recognizes they’re similar to the bullies at her school, she also realizes they’re more dangerous. When she and her 9-year-old brother, John, notice that the shady guys showed up about the same time the center’s cash donations disappeared, they hatch a plan to catch the thief, using John’s toy spy gear. Then Michael is kidnapped. Sam finds it hard to leave such worries to the police and other authorities. While the ending wraps up a little too neatly, this ambitious book for children hits the mark more often than not. There’s a lot to like about a mystery/adventure for preteens that takes on bullying, disabilities and a girl’s growing need for independence, and Adelman manages to weave each of those topics into a compelling story for young readers.
Aside from some overly didactic dialogue, kids will relate to Sam and her journal, and the characters and themes offer much to consider.Pub Date: May 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-1468126624
Page Count: 152
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Chris Grabenstein ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2013
Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at and references to children’s book titles, this solid, tightly plotted read...
When a lock-in becomes a reality game, 12-year-old Kyle Keeley and his friends use library resources to find their way out of Alexandriaville’s new public library.
The author of numerous mysteries for children and adults turns his hand to a puzzle adventure with great success. Starting with the premise that billionaire game-maker Luigi Lemoncello has donated a fortune to building a library in a town that went without for 12 years, Grabenstein cleverly uses the tools of board and video games—hints and tricks and escape hatches—to enhance this intricate and suspenseful story. Twelve 12-year-old winners of an essay contest get to be the first to see the new facility and, as a bonus, to play his new escape game. Lemoncello’s gratitude to the library of his childhood extends to providing a helpful holographic image of his 1968 librarian, but his modern version also includes changing video screens, touch-screen computers in the reading desks and an Electronic Learning Center as well as floor-to-ceiling bookshelves stretching up three stories. Although the characters, from gamer Kyle to schemer Charles Chiltington, are lightly developed, the benefits of pooling strengths to work together are clear.
Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at and references to children’s book titles, this solid, tightly plotted read is a winner for readers and game-players alike. (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: June 25, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-87089-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
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by Doug Cornett ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2020
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans.
Only children, rejoice! A cozy mystery just for you! (People with siblings will probably enjoy it too.)
Debut novelist Cornett introduces the One and Onlys, a trio of mystery-solving only kids: Gloria Longshanks “Shanks” Hill, Alexander “Peephole” Calloway, and narrator Paul (alas, no nickname) Marconi. The trio has a knack for finding and solving low-level mysteries, but they come up against a true head-scratcher when the yard of a resident of their small town is covered in rubber ducks overnight. Working ahead of Officer Portnoy, who’s a little on the slow side, can Paul, Shanks, and Peephole solve the mystery? Cornett has a lot of fun with this adventure, dropping additional side mysteries, a subplot about small businesses, big corporations, and economics, and a town’s love of bratwurst into the mix. Most importantly, he plays fair with the clues throughout, allowing astute readers to potentially solve the case ahead of the trio. The tone and mystery are perfect for younger readers who want to test their detective skills but are put off by anything scary or gory. The pacing would serve well for chapter-by-chapter read-alouds. If there are any quibbles, it’s the lack of diversity of the cast, as it defaults white. Diversity exists in small towns, and this one is crying out for more. Hopefully a sequel will introduce additional faces.
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-3003-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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