Three mysteries brimming with amusing adventures and preteen camaraderie.
Two 12-year-old detectives take on malefactors both at home and abroad in Lockhaven’s collection of middle-grade mysteries.
Ava Clarke and Carol Miller are the best of friends, whip-smart girls who, after uncovering the culprits stealing all the clocks at Nobel Park Middle School, have also discovered a taste for solving mysteries. This collection includes the lovingly antagonistic duo’s first three cases. The book starts with “The Mystery of the Pharaoh’s Diamonds,” in which the museum in their hometown of Livingston, Massachusetts, is robbed of the precious gemstones on display in its Ramesses exhibit. Their second case, “The Mystery of Solomon’s Ring,” is even grander: While on vacation in Italy, the girls come into possession of half of the biblical King Solomon’s demon-controlling ring. This puts them in the dangerous sights of the New Prophets, ex-gangsters who are willing to kidnap Ava’s mom to get the artifact. Finally, in “The Haunted Mansion,” Ava and Carol are back in Livingston for the Christmas season as a curious string of robberies occurs, just as the two have also caught the attention of a seemingly headless, furry-costumed stalker. The preteen protagonists are a joy to follow as they go about their well-meaning meddling. Ava’s bombastic humor and Carol’s supportive exasperation make for a terrific balance; their greatest weapons are their friendship and their wits—and, occasionally, a Thor 2000 ultra-bright flashlight. Even as the stakes rise and the adventures become more dangerous, funny chapter names, a penchant for puns, and the pair’s friendly teasing of each other keep things light while not undercutting the drama or the characters’ bravery. Without ever being heavy-handed, each story emphasizes the importance of enjoying being a little weird and of having unique interests and skills (even if solving mysteries isn’t one’s raison d’être).
Three mysteries brimming with amusing adventures and preteen camaraderie.Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2022
ISBN: 9781639110476
Page Count: 398
Publisher: Twisted Key Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 27, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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
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