Second swing and a hard miss.
Garvie Smith, the underachieving teen detective, returns in a new mystery with more murder, dangerous intrigue, and highly inconvenient exams.
Fans of Running Girl (2016) will find the mixed-race amateur sleuth and company much the same in this direct sequel, in which Pyotor Gimpel, a Polish boy with Asperger’s who also attends Garvie’s school, is found shot to death in a storage facility. True to form, Garvie abandons his already-small inclination to complete his exams, jeopardizing his future prospects, in order to solve this far more interesting whodunit puzzle, even as the recently demoted Sikh D.I. Singh tries in vain to keep Garvie out of it. Where Mason has added some depth to several aspects of Garvie’s world, including a closer look at his relationship with his Barbadian mother (his white father has abandoned the family), much of this sequel has disappointingly managed to outpace the problems of the first installment. The inclusion of a neurodivergent character as a murder victim, whose homicide is only solvable due to the particular behavioral manifestations of his autism-spectrum disorder, smacks of lip-service representation and lazy craft reliant on stereotype shorthand. Confusing elements such as the misrepresentation of Polish ethno-nationality as a racial identity also muddy the waters, and the juxtaposed-but-unexplored relationships of several different (Polish, Pakistani, Bajan) immigrant-family dynamics feel like a missed opportunity in a narrative where diverse cultural tensions are so largely at play.
Second swing and a hard miss. (Mystery. 13-17)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-03649-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: David Fickling/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story.
Is an exuberant extended family the cure for a breakup? Sophie is about to find out.
When Sophie unexpectedly breaks up with her boyfriend, she isn’t thrilled about spending the holidays at her grandparents’ house instead of with him. And when her grandmother forms a plan to distract Sophie from her broken heart—10 blind dates, each set up by different family members—she’s even less thrilled. Everyone gets involved with the matchmaking, even forming a betting pool on the success of each date. But will Sophie really find someone to fill the space left by her ex? Will her ex get wind of Sophie’s dating spree via social media and want them to get back together? Is that what she even wants anymore? This is a fun story of finding love, getting to know yourself, and getting to know your family. The pace is quick and light, though the characters are fairly shallow and occasionally feel interchangeable, especially with so many names involved. A Christmas tale, the plot is a fast-paced series of dinners, parties, and games, relayed in both narrative form and via texts, though the humor occasionally feels stiff and overwrought. The ending is satisfying, though largely unsurprising. Most characters default to white as members of Sophie’s Italian American extended family, although one of her cousins has a Filipina mother. One uncle is gay.
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-02749-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes.
What happens to the world after the dust from a revolution has settled?
Friends Annie and Lee were children from very different circles when Atreus killed Lee’s father, dragonlord Leon Stormscourge, ending the uprising on the bloodiest day in Callipolis’ history. For too long the dragonriders held all the power while their people starved and lived in fear. Nine years later, a new generation of dragonriders is emerging, children selected and trained on merit, not bloodlines. Their dragons are finally mature enough for them to compete for Firstrider, a position of power that can give Lee back a small part of what his family lost. However, not only is Lee competing against Annie, but rumors are circulating that some of the royal family have survived and have dragons of their own. Everyone will have to make a choice: Restore the old regime, support the First Protector and the new caste system he created, or look for a new way, no matter what the cost. From the beginning, this book pulls readers in with political intrigue and action. What keeps them invested, however, are the complex relationships between many cast members. Choices are complex, and the consequences for all could be deadly. The world is well fleshed out and believable. Annie and Lee are light skinned; secondary characters are diverse, and race is a nonissue in this world.
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes. (author’s note) (Fantasy.14-17)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51821-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
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