Despite the familiar beats, this fantasy tale delivers fresh magic and emotional depth.
A young boy awakens to his true powers in Zea’s coming-of-age middle-grade fantasy novel.
Young Londoner Fionn Hurley is first identified as a Lionborn by two mysterious figures—one tall and cloaked in black, the other a “hulking beast with twisted horns and jagged teeth”— who are trying to extract his blood. They fail to do so, as Fionn is protected by a light that entered his body moments before. But this does not stop them from haunting Fionn’s nightmares, nightmares that seem increasingly real (he wakes up covered in bruises). At school, Fionn is closest to his friend Ella, whose mother is missing and begins communicating with her via left-behind riddles. His other, newer friend is nicknamed Tiny, though he is quite large. One day at school, they are attacked by “a monstrous figure wielding a spiked mace.” Tiny whisks them away through a time portal and reveals that he is, in fact, an elf from the magical world of Arborea. Revelations come quickly from here, as both Fionn and Ella come to understand they aren’t just teens from London; they possess powers and have significance in realms far beyond the United Kingdom. Most importantly, Fionn learns that he is a true Lionborn, and that his blood could “breathe life and power back into the dead, ushering in resurrection.” Zea’s yarn is all a bit familiar, a mishmash of other popular fantasy stories and characters (the cursed and protected young child Harry Potter chief among them), but the author deftly makes this story unique despite the obvious parallels. Those who revel in dense mythology will enjoy passages like, “‘Lionborn found his Uks?’ repeated Turen. ‘That's too soon. Lionborn’s shadow beast doesn’t come into existence until much later.’” Others might find keeping up with all the names and various realms a little challenging. Nevertheless, the core characters keep the story moving.
Despite the familiar beats, this fantasy tale delivers fresh magic and emotional depth.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9781068201820
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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