A fresh take on a hero’s journey that all kids will enjoy.
Davis’ lively YA debut introduces a courageous boy who discovers that you can’t run away from your past, especially when it’s in your blood.
Buddy’s mother died in a car accident after a heated fight with her drunken father, Sebastian. Ten years later, the incident—complete with visions of the old man hurling “half-breed” and “mongrel” epithets—still haunts 13-year-old Buddy, his older brother and their bear-tracking “phD Dad,” even though the three moved to the Alaskan bush to escape the disturbing memories. Eventually, a letter arrives from Sebastian, now sober and looking to make amends. At first, Buddy’s reticent, too bitter and confused to accept his grandfather’s entreaty, but he eventually goes back to Montana to spend the summer on the Flathead Indian Reservation. When asked what he’d like to be called, Buddy tells Sebastian, “Call me James, like people that don’t know me.” But as time passes and the two bond over their respect for nature and a love of fishing, Buddy capitulates and begins to enjoy his time with the Native American side of his family and his newfound friends, including cute, redheaded Emerry and “careless,” misunderstood Dave. As a hot, dry July encroaches, wildfires force an evacuation, and the sudden disappearance of Emerry calls for Buddy and Dave to become men. In Buddy, Davis has created a convincing, winning narrator whose voice captures the inequities and insecurities of childhood. His reflections on nature conjure a touching reverence for the unspoiled Northwest, and his first encounter with Emerry humorously engages the reader while setting up the book’s delightful leitmotif: Buddy’s recurring dreams, seemingly infiltrated by spirit animals who warn of impending danger and heighten the book’s growing tension. In another clever device, Buddy desires to increase his vocabulary, choosing a new word each month and using it whenever he can. In the spirit of his self-imposed lesson plan, this “superb” novel is “risible” and full of characters with “tenacious” hearts.
A fresh take on a hero’s journey that all kids will enjoy.Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2011
ISBN: 978-1462016150
Page Count: 112
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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