An engaging novel drawing strength from its rich narrative voice and celebrating Black historical luminaries.
An almost-10-year-old boy races to solve the mystery of a golden key while forming deeper connections with people in his Chicago community.
Born and raised in the South Side of Chicago, Montgomery Carver lives in a world filled with small but plentiful delights. It’s the summer of 2008, and Monty’s Washington Park neighborhood is buzzing with excitement: A man named Barack Obama could become the first Black president of the United States, and Chicago could host the 2016 Olympics. Monty’s summer plans include perfecting his Afro and mastering his tennis serve. But when he prematurely unwraps his birthday present (a metal detector), uses it to find a skeleton key buried in Old Lady Jenkins’ flower bed, and then breaks his gift, he gets in trouble with his parents. Forced to work to pay them back, Monty does odd jobs for the neighbors, getting to know them—including community activist Ms. Jenkins—better in the process. Monty feverishly makes observations, does research, asks questions, and forms hypotheses, uncovering the story of the key, which reveals surprising connections to Washington Park and spotlights a lesser-known chapter in Black history. Tu Books’ New Visions Award winner Crowder’s debut depicts a vibrant community, showcasing the importance of civic responsibility and the power of grassroots organization. The narrative’s first-person perspective captures Monty’s infinite curiosity and endearing sense of wonder.
An engaging novel drawing strength from its rich narrative voice and celebrating Black historical luminaries. (author’s note) (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781643795171
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Tu Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at and references to children’s book titles, this solid, tightly plotted read...
When a lock-in becomes a reality game, 12-year-old Kyle Keeley and his friends use library resources to find their way out of Alexandriaville’s new public library.
The author of numerous mysteries for children and adults turns his hand to a puzzle adventure with great success. Starting with the premise that billionaire game-maker Luigi Lemoncello has donated a fortune to building a library in a town that went without for 12 years, Grabenstein cleverly uses the tools of board and video games—hints and tricks and escape hatches—to enhance this intricate and suspenseful story. Twelve 12-year-old winners of an essay contest get to be the first to see the new facility and, as a bonus, to play his new escape game. Lemoncello’s gratitude to the library of his childhood extends to providing a helpful holographic image of his 1968 librarian, but his modern version also includes changing video screens, touch-screen computers in the reading desks and an Electronic Learning Center as well as floor-to-ceiling bookshelves stretching up three stories. Although the characters, from gamer Kyle to schemer Charles Chiltington, are lightly developed, the benefits of pooling strengths to work together are clear.
Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at and references to children’s book titles, this solid, tightly plotted read is a winner for readers and game-players alike. (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: June 25, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-87089-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
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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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