A fun, if somewhat contrived, kid’s caper.
Four kids chase clues to find a hidden treasure in Vogel’s debut middle-grade adventure story.
In this novel, classmates Jake, Julie and Zach follow centuries-old clues while on a school trip to Ireland. At the start, 14-year-old Jake, a resourceful kid with a penchant for geeky gadgets, meets the O’Connells, his host family, at the airport; on the ride to their house, they stop at an overlook where Jake spots a little girl about to fall off a cliff into the deep waters of the Irish coastline. He dives in to save her and, while underwater, finds and retrieves a small wooden box; in it, he finds a small piece of metal engraved with the phrase “One hundred steps in the clouds of God” in Spanish. Soon the youngsters, including the host family’s 15-year-old daughter, Maggie, must keep one step ahead of two mysterious men who want to claim the treasure as their own. When they find out that valuable historical artifacts have been disappearing from local museums, they begin to connect the dots of an age-old mystery. Many archetypal characters are present in this tale, including Zach, a vacuous bully who targets Jake, and Zach’s girlfriend, Julie, who’s Jake’s schoolboy crush. They all sneak behind their host families’ backs for pursuits through uncharted territories, including a castle, an underground cave and a monastery. The two villains play a game of cat-and-mouse with the kids, and near-misses abound at each location. The story focuses primarily on Jake and his jury-rigged inventions—such as a molasses-and-vegetable-oil-filled squirt gun—and his inner dialogue provides a good source of humor throughout. Meanwhile, he’s also determined to find the treasure to have the a chance to buy back his dad’s sailboat, which had been sold to pay medical bills; back home in New York, his father, once a sailing enthusiast, was paralyzed in a horse-riding accident. Although the book’s initial treasure-hunt premise may seem clichéd, its conclusion does pay off, as Vogel ties up the story masterfully and offers a satisfying epilogue.
A fun, if somewhat contrived, kid’s caper.Pub Date: April 25, 2012
ISBN: 978-0962416699
Page Count: 164
Publisher: MB Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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