A resonant, richly layered adventure with a modern yet timeless emphasis on emotional intelligence, courage, and empathy.
With Kest gone, Bea, Cad, and friends confront a new threat: If they cannot recover the sun, their entire planet will soon freeze.
Ninety-four days ago, the birdlike spirit who devoured the sun was defeated after also destroying the artificial Lights that supported life on Irpa. Our protagonists depart for the Citadel of Knowledge, seeking information about the missing sun. Between weapons practice and road patrols, Bea practices the magic that the Arsai use to tap into the consciousness of all living things. Probert depicts her anxiety and self-doubt as dark, blobby ribbons or frantic spirals of text swirling around her. A recurring vision of another spirit leads Bea to question Kest’s true motivations. The Citadel’s resources enable Alfirid to finally translate Cad’s mysterious scrolls and lead the group to the site of an ancient tragedy, upending their beliefs about their world. This third series entry features deeper character development and introspection, creating a more intimate, though no less compelling, narrative that strengthens the characters’ relationships and invites further exploration of topics such as media literacy, bias, and the politics of historical record-keeping. Vibrant, expressive art showcases the characters’ personalities and emotions, the coziness of woodland camp scenes, and the striking diversity and scale of the settings the travelers traverse. Most main characters resemble human-sized, anthropomorphized animals; Bea has light skin and purple hair.
A resonant, richly layered adventure with a modern yet timeless emphasis on emotional intelligence, courage, and empathy. (map, alphabets) (Graphic fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780063080911
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
Contagiously goofy and fun.
Area 51 gets its first new resident in 5 years—and a new mystery.
When her grandma moves into a kid-free retirement home, 12-year-old orphan Priya “Sky” Patel-Baum and Spike, her pet hedgehog, relocate to Area 51 to live with Sky’s eccentric Uncle Anish. At 51, humans and Break Throughs (government-speak for aliens) live together off-grid in harmony. Unfortunately, several Zdstrammars (one of many Break Through species) mysteriously disappear, disrupting the base’s harmony and contributing to feelings of suspicion. Despite being deputy head of the Federal Bureau of Alien Investigations, Uncle Anish becomes a prime suspect. Can Sky and Elvis, her alien classmate, prove Uncle Anish’s innocence and find the missing Zdstrammars before it’s too late? YA author Buxbaum’s middle-grade debut is a rip-roaring series opener complete with over-the-top characters and jokes galore. Naidu’s black-and-white cartoon illustrations extend the comedy with ongoing commentary that smartly interacts with the prose. The cast of Break Through species—like Audiotooters, Galzorian, and Sanitizoria—have hilariously creative on-the-nose names with illustrations to match. Sky is coded biracial, with a White dad and Indian mom. Aliens appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors; Elvis shape-shifts but looks like a brown-skinned boy to Sky. Though the main mystery is neatly wrapped up, the cliffhanger ending promises more laughs.
Contagiously goofy and fun. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-42946-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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