by Terry Pratchett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1991
In book three of the "Bromeliad," the nomes recover their spaceship and leave Earth. At the end of Diggers (p. 109), Gemma and the other nomes, trapped in a quarry surrounded by hostile humans, were saved by the appearance of an enormous spaceship. Wings is a flashback in which Masklin, Grunder, and Angalo sneak aboard a Concorde bound from London to Miami and make their way to within hailing distance of the space shuttle so that Thing can subvert its communication ports to summon their spaceship, which has been stored on the moon for thousands of years. In the process, they meet a band of wild homes and are told that the world harbors thousands more. Gemma and Masklin leave for the stars; Grunder stays behind to communicate with humans and the other nomes. There is something a bit affected about naming a series after an orchid that harbors a colony of tiny frogs that leave their flower only when they outgrow it. Norton's Borrowers were entrancing, resourceful, and convincing; in comparison, nomes are naive, clumsy, and unlikely. Wings is resolutely earthbound, and while Pratchett can be wildly funny in his adult books, he seems tentative here. Still, young readers who liked the earlier volumes will want to read this one. (Fiction. 10+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0552551023
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1991
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by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
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by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
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BOOK TO SCREEN
by Adam Rex ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2007
Gratuity Tucci (“Tip” for short) has a problem. Aliens have invaded Earth, stolen her mother, and now she and the rest of humanity are being shunted onto small reservations while the invaders (the Boov) take over the rest of the planet. In avoiding this plan, via her family car, Tip runs across J.Lo, a renegade Boov with problems of his own. Together, girl and alien attempt to locate Tip’s mother only to discover that an even greater alien threat is imminent. It’s up to the two heroes to defeat the invaders, Boov and otherwise, and save the day. The humor in this story is undeniably unique, containing a skewed worldview that children will certainly enjoy. Yet while the first half of the book is an entirely funny road trip of the Kerouac-meets-E.T. variety, the second half slows down considerably. Rex has such a nice grasp of small tender moments amidst a world gone haywire, it’s a pity the book wasn’t pared down significantly. Inspired but problematic. (Fiction. 11-15)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7868-4900-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2007
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