Like Frankenstein, this novel creates something unique by stitching together odds and ends, then applying a few healthy...
Two street-smart alley cats steal the spotlight from Dr. Frankenstein and his creation in this amusing, imaginative take on the classic monster tale.
Wilson (Tucker’s Monster, 2010)—the writer behind a number of fantastical films, including Short Circuit (1986) and Tremors (1990)—paints a rich portrait of the German village of Dunkelhaven circa 1810. The guides are Rolf and Hermann, a pair of refined and resourceful felines who unwittingly trigger a series of chance encounters that bring readers deep inside the world of Frankenstein, the maniacal, brilliant young doctor obsessed with returning life to the dead. Desperate to secure transport to a cat-worshipping island, Rolf and Hermann agree to steal Frankenstein’s watch (or “tick-tock,” in animal parlance). The heroes are subsequently present during all the grisly, decisive moments that form the Frankenstein mythos, from the digging up of corpses to the stealing of brains and even the iconic “It’s alive! Alive! Aliiiiiiiiive!” moment of rebirth. In addition to humor stemming from both the tangled plotline and the cats’ refined manners—“I note that we have been wet more than we have been wet in the rest our lives,” Rolf says, to which Hermann responds, “Yes, I want that to be noted”—the novel’s playful self-awareness helps buoy the action. Early on, Wilson informs readers that his version is actually more authentic than Mary Shelley’s original: “A young woman named Mary something, pretending to the title of ‘novelist,’ wrote a different and much embellished version of the story. Since then there have been about a billion books, movies, plays, and comics based upon it. Ours is the true account. Trust us.” The novel carries a similar sense of the whimsical into its vocabulary, which is refreshingly broad, as when the initially carefree cats explore their environs: “As Rolf and Hermann padded comfortably from hedge to rose bush to topiary elephant, a cornucopia of delightful smells flitted around them like olfactory butterflies.” Also, despite targeting a younger demographic, this story maintains an all-ages appeal by not speaking down to its readers.
Like Frankenstein, this novel creates something unique by stitching together odds and ends, then applying a few healthy doses of creative electricity.Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-0982722299
Page Count: 188
Publisher: Real Deal Productions Incorporated
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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