Inventive in detail if predictable in plot, this should please fans of the first volume.
Long on action and atmosphere, with detailed descriptions and illustrations of the odd world of Orbona, Eva Nine’s adventures pick up just where they ended (The Search for WondLa, 2010).
In the ruins of an ancient city, an airship has appeared, piloted by the first other human Eva has ever seen. Hailey (think a teenage Han Solo) promises to deliver Eva and Rovender to New Attica (the reference will doubtless be lost on young readers), where the human population lives beneath a giant dome. Once there, Eva gets briefly caught up in its glamour and novelty before a strangely familiar young woman opens her eyes to the destructive intentions of the colony’s leader. A complicated escape and a series of chases ensue, with dramatic battles, a stop to reunite Rovender with his estranged family, betrayal by an ostensible ally, a mystical encounter and an attempt to rescue friends from danger. Once again, a not-terribly-surprising surprise ending sets up the next installment. The pace is faster and DiTerlizzi’s voice is stronger in this sequel, but it still feels like less than the sum of its parts. The accompanying website offers games, character descriptions and an "Augmented Reality" flying game. Full interactivity requires a webcam and a software download and may or may not increase readers’ enjoyment.
Inventive in detail if predictable in plot, this should please fans of the first volume. (Science fiction/fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: May 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4169-8312-5
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The farce is frantic to the point of being labored, but there’s still plenty of room in the Captain’s Underpants for this...
New threats to their small town, both in the present and the future, again send squabbling frenemies Alex, Herbert and Sammi—aka the intrepid AlienSlayers—through the wormhole in Alex’s backyard.
It’s all due to an elaborate scheme concocted by AeroStar, Sammi’s embittered 111-year-old future self. On the one hand, a century from now, the friendly aliens of Merwinsville have been stranded on the dark side of the moon while giant wreckers destroy their earthly Utopia. On the other, a time-traveling alien has sown giant, ambulatory, meat-eating plants in the present town’s community garden. Hurtling back and forth through time and space to the rescue puts the trio of sixth-graders in the way of a nonstop barrage of blaster fire from AeroStar’s Utility Tiara, a horde of attacking MinionBots, chases, narrow escapes and reunions with previously met allies. That’s not to mention poop, pizza and Sally Field jokes, practically superfluous Captain Underpants references, and multiple cascades of slime and alien vomit. Though billed as “Yet another novel in cartoons,” the many line drawings more often reflect the action than add to it; most of the tale is told in short cliffhanger chapters that alternate relentlessly between then and now.
The farce is frantic to the point of being labored, but there’s still plenty of room in the Captain’s Underpants for this gang of fellow travelers. (Science fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-201220-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Spun from the quirky cast and gaseous premise introduced in Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder (2010), this even sillier sequel expelled by the popular Norwegian crime novelist sends young Lisa and Nilly from Oslo to Paris and from the Middle Ages to Napoleon’s tent on the eve of Waterloo. Their aim? To rescue their eccentric inventor friend Victor Proctor and the love of his youth, Juliette Margarine. Despite pursuit by Juliette’s crimelord husband Claude Cliché and his gang of lookalike thugs, the young folk help to reunite the lovers. They also, with help from the puissant blasting powder of the title and a bathtub time machine, save the Doctor from the guillotine, call off the battle of Waterloo, dance on the stage of the Moulin Rouge, inspire Gustave Eiffel to build a tower, trick Columbus into thinking he’s landed in India and other historical feats. Though Lowery’s illustrations are too rare and sketchy to have much influence and a significant character seems to have been trucked in just to be killed off later, the tale burbles comically along and everything comes out right…in the…end. (Light fantasy. 10-12)
Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4169-7974-6
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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