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
In a reverse Wizard of Oz effect, a twister takes circus pooch Pierre Le Chien to Kansas in this amusing sequel to Pete and Fremont (2007). Once again Pete’s huge ego fetches big trouble. After not only biting partner/rival Rita the chimp on the butt during a performance but having an “accidental dental encounter” with the Ringmaster himself, Pete’s act is dropped from the show and he gets the dreaded Silent Treatment from all the other animals. During a subsequent huff-inspired runaway attempt, he’s whirled off, along with Rita, to a farm far from the circus’s comforts. Several comical rustic encounters later, the two set out for its off-season home in Florida—an odyssey that features being rammed by a riverboat, freeing a flock of captured parrots and bringing a trio of ill-intentioned dognappers to justice. Pete’s relentless puffery may get on readers’ nerves, but by the time of his joyful, all-sins-forgiven reunion with the circus, he’s toned it down enough to welcome a new partner, Quackers the dancing duck, to the act. Lightweight fun. (Fantasy. 9-11)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-15-206177-7
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
Picking up where 100 Cupboards (2006) left off, this new adventure finds young hero Henry York back in Kansas, sleeping fitfully next to a wall of doors that lead to secret worlds. Forces have been after Henry ever since he freed the remarkably evil Witch of Endor in his previous adventure. After a surprisingly painful run-in with a seemingly average dandelion, Henry is kidnapped and taken through one of the doors. Now his family has split up, trying desperately to find one another through the various openings, and Henry must find a way to battle the witch’s forces and defeat Darius, a wizard of great power and filthy desires. Wilson has unfortunately strayed away from the sheer, wonderful weirdness of his previous fantasy to create something a little more staid and normal. This may earn it a wider readership, but it sacrifices much of the originality particular to the series. Still, it is a memorable sequel and fans will look forward to Henry’s future adventures, wherever they might lead. (Fantasy. 9-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-375-83883-5
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
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.
