An energetic and winning SF tale of a brilliant young New Yorker.
Segarra-Orenstein presents an illustrated middle-grade novel about a young genius on an amazing extra-dimensional adventure.
As the story opens, ninth grader Marcella Josefina “Marz” Sidrais making her way to her home in Brooklyn. In some ways, Marz is an average kid who enjoys stylish hair clips and has homework that needs doing, but in others, she’s exceptional: a creative soul and inventor who transforms found objects into “something unique.” In this pursuit, she’s encouraged by Carmen, the owner of her favorite Fishbowl Café: “Never underestimate your ability to make big changes in the world,” she tells the teen. One of those potential tools for change is in Marcella’s attic at home (her “creative hub,” known as the Marzelab); it’s an invention she calls the Realm Portal (RP), which is the size of a Rubik’s Cube and is made from meteorite residue and rare earth metals she scrounged from cell phones. She’s hoping to use the RP as a gateway to other dimensions, so she’s intrigued when the device unexpectedly turns on and starts beeping. Later, “a glowing whirlpool” appears, putting her in contact with strange beings who claim to be from Proxima Centauri; she soon wonders if they’re connected with a story Carmen tells her about her own girlhood, when she and Marz’s grandmother encountered a glowing extraterrestrial “angel” at the Arecibo Observatory in their native Puerto Rico; the being gave them each a special pendant. Marz is now in possession of her grandmother’s pendant, and it’s central to the ensuing adventure, which brings her all the way to another planet to meet the same beings who contacted her grandmother all those years ago.
In buoyant prose and lively dialogue (assisted by Ram’s occasional appealing grayscale illustrations), Segarra-Orenstein crafts a peppy adventure story with an appealing and well-developed central character. Marz is a relatable protagonist who’s extremely capable but also fallible. The author comfortably situates her as part of a large extended family who live in homes with warm kitchens, full of fragrant dishes from Puerto Rico. At the heart of the story is the unconditional love of her family members, portrayed in terms that are glowing but also realistic; Marz is very much aware of how strict her mother can be, for instance, while her father can be relied upon to give her no-nonsense advice (“Popularity doesn’t solve your issues,” he tells her at one point; “it postpones them”). Likewise, Marz’s diverse friends love her and treat her as a peer. The book has playful references to the many amazing inventions Marz has cobbled together from random repurposed elements, in part inspired by the achievements of her role model: Erika Douglas, the founder of a company called Habitable Extraterrestrial Research and Analysis. Segarra-Orenstein smoothly and naturally embeds the adventure of Proxima Centauri into a long-standing secret in Marz’s family, which, in turn, affectingly connects her with her late grandparent. Quirky, referential humor is sprinkled throughout the book, as when Marz, while traveling though dimensions, thinks “I’m certainly not in Brooklyn anymore!”
An energetic and winning SF tale of a brilliant young New Yorker.Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2023
ISBN: 9798987935217
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Hasta En La Luna
Review Posted Online: Nov. 27, 2023
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
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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