Edmund Amos Peters, nearly 13, is the cabin boy on the vessel known as the Giant Rat of Sumatra (named for its memorable figurehead) and the narrator of this delightfully crisp, compact tale of adventure and fortune. He’s known as Shipwreck because he was plucked from the remains of one by the pirate who likes to call himself Captain Gallows. Shipwreck accompanies the captain to shore in San Diego, where the pirate’s plans to become a gentleman and to find his childhood sweetheart are challenged by bandits and the threat of war. These obstacles are easily but satisfyingly overcome, and Fleischman’s prose snaps and crackles with good humor as the amiable buccaneer moves briskly from sea to the port of San Diego and on to his new venture as landowner of a large estate by the sea. The setting in 1846, just before Americans captured San Diego for the U.S., offers an intriguing glimpse of California as its own land. Some threads remain to be gathered at the end, but if this is, as Fleischman says, the end of his California trilogy, they beg another story. Spirited and entertaining. (Fiction. 9-13)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-074238-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2005
A snappy mystery that’s full of heart.
A group of bright friends tackles the puzzle of their lives.
Elmwood, New Hampshire, 11-year-old Gina Sparks is small in stature but big on reporting ongoing dramas for the local newspaper with support from her journalist mom. When an unbelievable scoop comes her way, Gina must rely on her tightknit crew of sixth grade best friends whose initials happen to spell GEEK, a label they choose to proudly reclaim. She and science-minded prankster Elena Hernández, theater kid Edgar Feingarten, and driven math genius Kevin Robinson decide to get to the bottom of things when they learn that the Van Houten Toy & Game Company heir made elaborate plans to leave everything to the town of Elmwood before her death—but only if a member of the community could solve an intricate multistep puzzle. Gina hopes that deciphering the clues and finding the missing fortune will be just the thing to revitalize the down-on-its-luck town and bring the Elmwood Tribune back into the black, saving her mom’s job and Gina’s passion project. The GEEKs work together, using their individual talents and deductive reasoning skills to unravel the mystery. Infused with media literacy pointers, such as the difference between fact and opinion and reminders to avoid bias when reporting, the story encourages readers to think critically. Gina and Edgar read as White; Elena is cued as Latinx, and Kevin is implied Black.
A snappy mystery that’s full of heart. (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37793-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
This promising debut is set in a dying underground city. Ember, which was founded and stocked with supplies centuries ago by “The Builders,” is now desperately short of food, clothes, and electricity to keep the town illuminated. Lina and Doon find long-hidden, undecipherable instructions that send them on a perilous mission to find what they believe must exist: an exit door from their disintegrating town. In the process, they uncover secret governmental corruption and a route to the world above. Well-paced, this contains a satisfying mystery, a breathtaking escape over rooftops in darkness, a harrowing journey into the unknown and cryptic messages for readers to decipher. The setting is well-realized with the constraints of life in the city intriguingly detailed. The likable protagonists are not only courageous but also believably flawed by human pride, their weaknesses often complementing each other in interesting ways. The cliffhanger ending will leave readers clamoring for the next installment. (Fiction. 9-13)
Pub Date: May 27, 2003
ISBN: 0-375-82273-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2003
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