Light in tone and satisfyingly heavy on therapeutic wish fulfillment.
Chills and cheers ensue when a bullied middle schooler’s dark side rears up and exacts a fiendish round of revenge.
Led by hulking eighth grader Logan Haggis and a widowed mom from hell, the cast of DiTerlizzi’s latest is stocked with bullies of various sizes and ages. They all get what’s coming to them when sixth grader Timothy Quibble at last permits the Wump, the glowering monster he’s begun to glimpse in mirrors and reflections, to take control of his actions. Though the metaphorical essence of the premise is obvious from the outset, readers are as likely to be thrilled by the jagged, shadowy, truly terrifying Wump as by the sweet, sweet revenge it goes on to exact. Having inflicted pain but no permanent harm, Timothy, realizing he’s gone overboard, remorsefully takes back control. The author himself goes overboard in a portrayal of his narrator’s unloving, self-absorbed mother, who’s so savage that the dab of redemption he allows her at the end comes off as perfunctory at best. Still, there are supportive characters, too—including, as a nice surprise, a former tormentor who turns out to have similar struggles of his own and who has savvy life advice to offer. The students at the slyly named Jeffrey P. Kinney Middle School display racial diversity in the gallery of yearbook portraits. DiTerlizzi’s expertly crafted grayscale illustrations with pops of bright green are a highlight.
Light in tone and satisfyingly heavy on therapeutic wish fulfillment. (Supernatural. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9798217004911
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals.
Is dolphin-assisted therapy so beneficial to patients that it’s worth keeping a wild dolphin captive?
Twelve-year-old Lily has lived with her emotionally distant oncologist stepfather and a succession of nannies since her mother died in a car accident two years ago. Nannies leave because of the difficulty of caring for Adam, Lily’s severely autistic 4-year-old half brother. The newest, Suzanne, seems promising, but Lily is tired of feeling like a planet orbiting the sun Adam. When she meets blind Zoe, who will attend the same private middle school as Lily in the fall, Lily’s happy to have a friend. However, Zoe’s take on the plight of the captive dolphin, Nori, used in Adam’s therapy opens Lily’s eyes. She knows she must use her influence over her stepfather, who is consulting on Nori’s treatment for cancer (caused by an oil spill), to free the animal. Lily’s got several fine lines to walk, as she works to hold onto her new friend, convince her stepfather of the rightness of releasing Nori, and do what’s best for Adam. In her newest exploration of animal-human relationships, Rorby’s lonely, mature heroine faces tough but realistic situations. Siblings of children on the spectrum will identify with Lily. If the tale flirts with sentimentality and some of the characters are strident in their views, the whole never feels maudlin or didactic.
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-67605-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls.
Three young ghost trappers take on deadly wraiths and solve an old murder case in the bargain to kick off Stroud’s new post-Bartimaeus series.
Narrator Lucy Carlyle hopes to put her unusual sensitivity to supernatural sounds to good use by joining Lockwood & Co.—one of several firms that have risen to cope with the serious ghost Problem that has afflicted England in recent years. As its third member, she teams with glib, ambitious Anthony Lockwood and slovenly-but-capable scholar George Cubbins to entrap malign spirits for hire. The work is fraught with peril, not only because a ghost’s merest touch is generally fatal, but also, as it turns out, as none of the three is particularly good at careful planning and preparation. All are, however, resourceful and quick on their feet, which stands them in good stead when they inadvertently set fire to a house while discovering a murder victim’s desiccated corpse. It comes in handy again when they later rashly agree to clear Combe Carey Hall, renowned for centuries of sudden deaths and regarded as one of England’s most haunted manors. Despite being well-stocked with scream-worthy ghastlies, this lively opener makes a light alternative for readers who find the likes of Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice series too grim and creepy for comfort.
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls. (Ghost adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6491-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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