A promising SF/fantasy/mystery blend, Schmid’s debut features an intrepid 12-year-old who picks up her parents’ trail a year after they vanish at an archeological dig on planet Lindos. That trail leads Violynne into brushes with the autocratic planetary Arbiter and with several sorts of enigmatic aliens, then into a dramatic flight that culminates in the discovery of an ancient time machine deep underground. As Schmid plays fast and loose with physical laws (specifically a moon that doesn’t affect the orbits of any of its near neighbors, despite having the gravity well of a black hole), this isn’t pure SF, but she creates a credible setting and keeps the pace up. She also stirs in suspense and political intrigue, provides Violynne with a good stock of native intelligence, plus a pair of colorful secret agents to give her a hand at need, and finishes off with a dramatic multiple rescue. This stands alone but could engender sequels—which would be a good thing, as well-crafted interstellar tales for this audience are rare. (Science fiction/fantasy. 10-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-399-24460-5
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Peter, an 11-year-old traffic fatality, finds himself looking down on his funeral as a voice offers him a do-over. He...
Another ingenious but leaky story from Sleator (The Boxes, 1998, etc.), likely to leave readers more puzzled than intrigued.
Peter, an 11-year-old traffic fatality, finds himself looking down on his funeral as a voice offers him a do-over. He eagerly accepts, only to discover that the past has a stubborn momentum; he’s killed again, gets another chance, and blows that one, too. Convinced that the key to survival lies in winning the appreciation of his clueless, cold-hearted parents, Peter displays consideration by waiting hand and foot on his pregnant mother, creativity by putting on an elaborate puppet show to explain his feelings, and cleverness by predicting local events that haven’t yet happened, then contriving to shift the resulting public furor onto a bullying classmate. Apparently, all of this makes him a more thoughtful person, so his fatal attraction to passing automobiles ceases. The premise, with its echoes of many books and movies, will only be new to very inexperienced readers, but the cheerlessness of Peter’s home life gives the whole story a drab cast, and the internal logic seems more convenient than consistent. Sleator has a following, but he won’t win any new fans with this one. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: July 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-525-46130-2
Page Count: 122
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1999
Prejudice leads to tragedy in Heisel's (Eyes of a Stranger, 1996) preachy, but perceptive, cross-cultural tale about a friendship between two girls, one a white Christian, the other a non-Christian Chinese in a rough and tumble mining community. The gold rush is just about over and although Angelena's part-time miner Pa still works his 'diggin's,' the pickings are no longer ample. A Chinese settlement has sprung up on the edge of town, and, as times tighten, miners begin to complain that while gold and jobs are scarce, there's a big surplus of 'he dang Chinee.' The discussion would have remained theoretical to fourteen-year-old Angelena if An Li, a Chinese girl about her own age, didn't begin coming to her one room schoolhouse. Against the sentiment of the other kids, Angelena befriends An Li and gets to know members of her community. Things heat up when a group of disgruntled miners, including Angelena's angry, frustrated Uncle Jasper, begin acting on their dissatisfaction. Learning that the miners are going to drive the Chinese out of town by burning down their homes, Angelena acts, bravely going to the 'China Shacks' to protect her friends. Life lessons abound including one from her brother Tom about the complicity of silence. 'I always thought I could hang around Jasper's shenanigans without being a part of the worst of them. But I was wrong.' Although somewhat formulaic and slow in spots, Heisel's colorfully written story, textured with exuberant, punchy dialogue, will give face to a little known aspect of the gold rush. (author’s note) (Historical Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 15, 2000
ISBN: 0-8234-1432-9
Page Count: 185
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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