This is a book about very nice people. None of them is Timmy Failure.
The main character in a children’s book is often the kindest, most heroic person in the story, but not here. Timmy spends his time in class drawing insulting baseball cards with pictures of his classmates. Molly Moskins has a crush on Timmy. Her baseball card says, “Characteristics: Mismatched pupils. Smells like tangerine.” His best friend’s card says, “Boring.” In spite of that, his friends go out of their way to help him, and a good-natured teacher even asks if Timmy will draw him on a baseball card. (His card has only one word on the back: “Nosy.”) Some readers will lose patience with Timmy, and they may even wonder if the book would be better with someone else as the main character. But there are several moments where Timmy is unironically sweet. Anyone familiar with the previous books in the series may be surprised at the genuine sentiment in a few scenes. There are actual hugs, and there’s a deeply touching conversation with a very unlikely person. (Her baseball card says, “Occupation: Evil.”)
Timmy Failure is a classic antihero: Some readers will be drawn to the book because of him; others will be drawn to it in spite of him. (Comic mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7375-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S MYSTERY & THRILLER
Did you like this book?
This thriller reads like Miss Congeniality meets Kingsman, starring Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Anishinaabe-kwe water protector Autumn Peltier…kind of.
Puerto Rican–born, Brooklyn-raised Sara isn’t expecting much from her court-appointed lawyer—she has no reason to put faith in the system that put her in jail after she hacked into the city’s computers to expose her foster parents as abusive frauds. But with juvie her only other prospect, Sara takes a leap and agrees to a wild proposition: She’ll join Britain’s MI6 as a kid operative. When she arrives at the covert facility in Scotland, she meets the other kids the MI6 agent, a white Englishman affectionately called Mother, has taken in—all of them, like Sara, have highly developed skills in logic, puzzles, sneakiness, and other useful spy tactics. Mother has a mission for them; he’s taking them to Paris to a competition for youth environmental innovation, where their job is to perform just well enough to make it into the top 10 so they can protect the eccentric billionaire sponsor of the contest from an imminent threat. It’s a fun romp with timely but superficial things to say about environmental activism, though the recruitment process and messy organization stretches the imagination even with a hardy suspension of disbelief. For a spy story, it’s surprisingly interior focused rather than action packed. The cast is technically diverse in ethnic background, but this has next to no influence on the characters.
It’s fine, but it doesn’t live up to its potential as a STEM-plus-caper adventure. (Thriller. 8-12)Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1491-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S MYSTERY & THRILLER | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
Did you like this book?
After receiving a letter from her incarcerated father, whom she’s never met, 12-year-old Zoe sets out to prove his innocence.
It’s the summer before seventh grade, and aspiring pastry chef Zoe sets her sights on perfecting her baking skills to audition as a contestant on Food Network’s Kids Bake Challenge. One day, she receives a letter from her father, Marcus, who was sent to prison for murder right before Zoe was born. She’s never met Marcus, and her mother wants her to have nothing to do with him. So Zoe keeps the letter a secret and begins corresponding with Marcus on a regular basis. He shares his favorite songs and encourages Zoe’s baking-competition dreams. When Marcus proclaims his innocence, Zoe is shocked: How could someone innocent end up in prison? With the help of her grandmother and her friend Trevor, Zoe begins to learn about systemic racism and how Black people like her and Marcus are more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than White people. Zoe’s relationship with Marcus is at the center of the novel, but her relationships with her mother, stepfather, grandmother, and Trevor are also richly conveyed. This powerful debut packs both depth and sweetness, tackling a tough topic in a sensitive, compelling way.
An extraordinary, timely, must-read debut about love, family, friendship, and justice. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-287585-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S MYSTERY & THRILLER | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
Did you like this book?
PERSPECTIVES
© Copyright 2021 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
