A densely plotted, fast-moving, thematically rich tale set at the intersection of ability and disability.
A teen enters a challenging, multiday dog sled race to raise awareness of the incurable disease that’s blinded her sister and now claims her own sight.
To retain her independence, McKenna, 14, has hidden her deteriorating vision from her family, dropped extracurricular activities, and withdrawn from friends. Only 8-year-old Emma knows that McKenna, too, inherited Stargardt disease, a juvenile form of macular degeneration. (Both retain some peripheral vision.) Observing how parental conflicts, exacerbated by their mother’s overprotectiveness, have undermined Emma’s progress toward self-reliance, McKenna’s avoided disclosing her disability. She’s certain the knowledge would devastate her parents, but hiding vision loss is a risky strategy—especially on demanding, unfamiliar terrain, the route Canadian couriers once used to deliver mail by dog sled. An experienced musher—her (presumed white) Michigan family raises and trains sled dogs—McKenna hopes her skills can compensate. As the weather deteriorates, sighted competitors (the daughter of a famous musher and the descendent of a dog sled courier) also make dangerous mistakes. McKenna’s dread of losing her autonomy while her teen peers move toward independent adulthood resonates. Giving and accepting help, she confronts her own beliefs and fears about disability. Johnson’s mushing expertise pays off in a suspenseful plot laden with convincing details. The lively, crowded, chaotic world of dogs and mushers is memorably complemented by the silent, icy wilderness they race through.
A densely plotted, fast-moving, thematically rich tale set at the intersection of ability and disability. (author’s note) (Adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-55159-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
Ponderous and protracted, with more work needed on both the world and the characters.
Two young teens with special powers face an ancient evil rising from the very heart of the Tinvali Empire in this doorstopping series opener.
Pursued by ruthless agents eager to exploit her mysterious ability to read peoples’ true feelings, Arden—eventually, after many chapters alternating between dual narrators—links up with foundling Mako, a budding music mage who’s carefully hiding the fact that he’s invited an invisible smooth-talking trickster spirit named Narrix to be his lifelong guardian. It seems that some of Narrix’s fellow spirits may be even nastier—and there are ominous hints that they might be sneaking back into the world. Several of Arden’s adventures do more to bulk up the page count than advance the plot in any meaningful way, and though (like many of Mull’s protagonists) she’s a dab hand at snarky banter, she otherwise comes off as a rather wooden character. Readers may find Mako’s journey and conflicts more absorbing, as he struggles to balance the joy of blossoming into an outstanding warrior under Narrix’s tutelage with the sneaking suspicion he’s made a bad choice of tutor. Whether his concerns are valid or not remains to be seen. The leads present white.
Ponderous and protracted, with more work needed on both the world and the characters. (Fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: April 14, 2026
ISBN: 9780593712047
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 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.
