The balance between romance and action misses the mark slightly, but ultimately, readers will be glad they strapped on their...
Eleven months and several life-threatening adventures into his spy training, 13-year-old Benjamin Ripley is being activated as a primary agent on his first official mission.
Ben, his not-so-secret crush, Erica Hale, and a host of their fellow classmates from the CIA’s Academy of Espionage are being sent to Vail, Colorado, over winter break to gather intel on Leo Shang, a Chinese billionaire businessman and potential nefarious mastermind with his sights set on the United States. To do this, Ben must befriend Shang’s daughter, Jessica, at ski school, which seems easy enough until his handsome best friend from home turns up unexpectedly and inadvertently threatens to ruin the entire plan and blow Ben’s cover. Fans of the series will enjoy spending time with Ben, Erica, and a host of secondary characters that are finally given a chance to shine, most notably Ben’s friend Mike. With the exception of Jessica Shang and presumably Ben’s classmate Jawaharlal O’Shea, it appears to be a mostly white bunch, but they certainly do add to the fun. As this funny and familiar entry opts to focus on the burgeoning love triangles, the series’ signature fast-paced action is saved predominately for the last quarter of the novel.
The balance between romance and action misses the mark slightly, but ultimately, readers will be glad they strapped on their boots and went along for the ride. (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4562-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 27, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An inspiring sports story all the way to the buzzer.
Basketball is life in Lorain, Ohio.
A group of seventh graders have different reasons for joining Hoop Group, an elite youth basketball program. Jayden, who lives in a tiny, cramped house with his mother and grandmother, desperately needs the money playing for the NBA would bring. Chris’ uncle made it out of Lorain and into the NBA, but he doesn’t share his uncle’s skills and can’t quite live up to his father’s expectations. Tamika’s dad was Hoop Group’s coach before Parkinson’s disease put the team’s future in jeopardy; she has a lot to prove and dreams of being the next Pat Summitt. Dex and his hardworking single mom are struggling with poverty, but he just loves the game––especially the Cleveland Cavs. And Anthony, frankly, doesn’t have much of a choice; it was either join this character-building group or face expulsion from school. A makeshift team of preteens with a lot on their plates, they discover as much about themselves (and one another) off the court as they do on it. The authors present a convincing argument about the value of basketball beyond points on the board and big contracts. The characters’ dreams are relatable along with the book’s universally valuable emphasis on hard work and perseverance. But the specifics about what it takes to make it in basketball and the fast-paced on-court action provide something special for young fans of the game. Main characters read as Black.
An inspiring sports story all the way to the buzzer. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-297109-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
An insightful, action-packed, and thought-provoking adventure.
In a dystopian future ravaged by climate change, a 12-year-old tech genius must save her community from an evil government.
Raised on her family’s strawberry farm in the Valley, Yolanda Cicerón, who has Cuban roots, aspires to become a neurolink surgeon, install computer chips in human skulls, and live in Silo, the most developed city around. But Camila, Yoly’s older sister and her guardian since their parents’ exile, can’t afford the tuition. After Yoly secretly accepts a scholarship from Silo’s Mayor Blackburn to fund her studies—against Cami’s explicit wishes—she realizes the scholarship’s terms require her to go on Retreat, a life-threatening mission in territory plagued by extreme weather disasters. Terrified, Cami finally shares secret family history that explains her mistrust of the mayor. Yoly belatedly understands that the System that purportedly keeps everyone safe from nature is actually oppressive and is spying on them. Looking for a way to pay off the scholarship and avoid the Retreat, Yoly and Cami discover a honeybee colony on their farm and recognize that the bees can pollinate fields and thereby reduce people’s dependence on Silo. But questioning and innovation are dangerous under an authoritarian regime, and when people dear to Yoly are taken away, she must fight to save them and bring down the whole corrupt System. Readers will root for Yoly, who is as kind and brave as she is smart, in this page-turning story that deals with all-too-relevant themes.
An insightful, action-packed, and thought-provoking adventure. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-300655-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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