An engaging work that should be a solid hit with young readers.
Skinner offers a steampunk middle-grade adventure novel about a bunch of scrappy urchins who battle bad guys and rescue their own.
The “streeters” live in a part of the city of Landings that seems straight out of the work of Charles Dickens: full of filth and choking smoke, and cold and wet all the time. These kids are orphans, for the most part, who do what they must to survive while dodging nasty cops—especially Constable Cutter. The book’s main hero is Gage, and his gang is the Lostuns. Gangs are the only society they have, and the only source of tenuous security. Gage, while looking for some Lostuns who have gone missing, comes across Wynd, who’s been forced out of her own gang, the Dartlings, because she insists on searching for her two missing young brothers. During the search, Gage encounters a tiny “clockwork” homunculus named Clax who proves invaluable to the mission, time after time. The plot takes off when it becomes clear that the missing boys have been abducted and sold to pirates and smugglers, who spirited them off to an island where they’re forced to extract a precious ore. With pluck and luck and amazing inventions (including flying machines), the heroes confront seemingly hopeless situations and hairbreadth escapes. Skinner is experienced at these sorts of stories, and it shows. The work of J.M Barrie also deserves credit as her inspiration, since foppish Captain Spindle is a barely disguised Captain Hook, his first mate is clearly Mr. Smee, and Clax is a Tinker Bell analogue; there’s even a crocodile (albeit a steampunk creation). Skinner is clearly having fun with this, but the moral—the importance of family, whether biological or only spiritual—is apt and a good lesson for young folks; such togetherness is to be encouraged.
An engaging work that should be a solid hit with young readers.Pub Date: April 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-938190-77-3
Page Count: 255
Publisher: Brick Cave Media
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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