Corbett stirs current events into an old-fashioned boy-makes-good tale with mixed results. Wilson Glenn David V, now 12, assumes his tiny town’s newspaper route, a family tradition begun by his grandfather. Wil, a precocious homeschooler, intends saving his earnings for a laptop, but when The Cooper County Caller announces that it’s cutting costs by eliminating home delivery for the town, the boy rises to a higher purpose. The overfull plot blends the five-day stint of a traveling fair (complete with a high-stakes, crooked game of chance that Wil’s determined to expose) with his fight to galvanize public protest over The Caller’s decision. Narrative tension wobbles under a load of issues: the town’s poor economy, the Davids’ rocky finances since the closure of the hairpin factory and the cable-less community’s tenuous access to information. Corbett overworks Wil’s futile attempt to acquire a recent newspaper story about events at the shady carnival’s prior stop, and one wonders why an ailing town endures its founding family’s lock on the sole newspaper route. A tidy resolution comes hastily together as “Wil of Steele” proves his mettle. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-525-42205-1
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2009
This middle installment picks up speed and delicious suspense as Arisa and Weasel struggle to grasp the reins of power within a precarious government. Arisa’s mother, the Falcon, commands a high military position, while Justice Holis holds the regency for Prince Edoran, too young to rule. Their uneasy truce keeps both leaders living in the castle, forcing furious Arisa into corsets and embroidery lessons. An embarrassing incident at court—her dress nearly falls off—causes Arisa to wonder whether her maid’s hostility is deliberate sabotage aimed at the Falcon and prompts her to sneak out at night to follow the maid—which leads to her taking an undercover job at a tavern that hosts clandestine meetings. Bell recaptures a moral subtlety missing in the series opener that readers will recall from her Farsala trilogy. As Weasel and Edoran help Arisa unearth an unexpected (and unexpectedly painful) conspiracy, she places hints for readers to sleuth along in a most satisfying way. Even Arisa’s “arcanara” (tarot) cards are readable for clues. A covert last-minute escape leaves the plot poised breathlessly for the final volume. (Fantasy. 9-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4169-0596-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2008
Millicent Madding’s dreams of becoming the sixth-grade class president appear to go up in a puff of hairspray when the students of Pretty Liddy’s Junior Fashion Academy relocate to her school. Faced with a campaign that suddenly hinges on a series of fashion walk-offs rather than issues, Millicent wrestles with her conscience: Should she compromise her integrity and redefine herself in order to achieve her goal? Tacang skewers the fashion industry with glee. Millicent’s opponent Fiona is the ultimate model, body honed to perfection and followed by a sycophantic entourage. Flatly one-dimensional, she embodies an archetypical tween villainess, incessantly spouting cruel comments. The writing suffers from an excess of “hip”-ness, often deteriorating into snarky one-liners and delivering such abysmal clunkers as “Her lips smoldered as red as a smart remark.” An abrupt, pat resolution diminishes the authenticity and moral weight of the tale. Despite these missteps, tween audiences will empathize with Millicent’s predicament as she struggles to succeed in a world suddenly defined by superficiality. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-06-073914-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2008
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