by V.L. Burgess ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2012
Fantasy-loving boys (and girls) will be enthralled by this slim, action-packed tale—and the sequels likely to follow.
Thirteen-year-old Tom Hawkins must find the most powerful weapon ever created and save the world.
When a pirate with a wooden peg leg arrives at Thomas’ school one stormy night, he delivers a mysterious map, a guide to the "Beyond" and the way to find the Sword of Five Kingdoms, which has been missing for 1,000 years. When its hilt has been reunited with five special stones, the rightful bearer of the sword can put an end to the reign of the evil ruler Keegan. Umbrey the pirate leads Tom through a window to a new world, where Tom meets up with a twin brother he never knew he had and with Mudge and Willa. Together they form a band of travelers on a quest to find the sword, with many a sword fight, swamp dog and dragon along the way. Freely borrowing from Treasure Island, Arthurian tales, The Lord of the Rings and other classic adventure and fantasy tales, Burgess reworks common themes of old maps, powerful wizards, evil rulers, dragons, a hidden sword and a boy king to fashion the first offering from a publisher out to create works that will appeal especially to boys.
Fantasy-loving boys (and girls) will be enthralled by this slim, action-packed tale—and the sequels likely to follow. (Fantasy. 9-13)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9854810-0-1
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Move Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
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by Annie Matthew ; developed by Kobe Bryant ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 24, 2021
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
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More by Annie Matthew
BOOK REVIEW
by Annie Matthew ; developed by Kobe Bryant
by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2015
Ultimately more than a little full of itself, but well-stocked with big themes, inventively spun fairy-tale tropes, and...
Good has won every fairy-tale contest with Evil for centuries, but a dark sorcerer’s scheme to turn the tables comes to fruition in this ponderous closer.
Broadening conflict swirls around frenemies Agatha and Sophie as the latter joins rejuvenated School Master Rafal, who has dispatched an army of villains from Capt. Hook to various evil stepmothers to take stabs (literally) at changing the ends of their stories. Meanwhile, amid a general slaughter of dwarves and billy goats, Agatha and her rigid but educable true love, Tedros, flee for protection to the League of Thirteen. This turns out to be a company of geriatric versions of characters, from Hansel and Gretel (in wheelchairs) to fat and shrewish Cinderella, led by an enigmatic Merlin. As the tale moves slowly toward climactic battles and choices, Chainani further lightens the load by stuffing it with memes ranging from a magic ring that must be destroyed and a “maleficent” gown for Sophie to this oddly familiar line: “Of all the tales in all the kingdoms in all the Woods, you had to walk into mine.” Rafal’s plan turns out to be an attempt to prove that love can be twisted into an instrument of Evil. Though the proposition eventually founders on the twin rocks of true friendship and family ties, talk of “balance” in the aftermath at least promises to give Evil a fighting chance in future fairy tales. Bruno’s polished vignettes at each chapter’s head and elsewhere add sophisticated visual notes.
Ultimately more than a little full of itself, but well-stocked with big themes, inventively spun fairy-tale tropes, and flashes of hilarity. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: July 21, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-210495-3
Page Count: 672
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2015
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More In The Series
by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
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BOOK REVIEW
by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by RaidesArt
BOOK REVIEW
by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by RaidesArt
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by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Julia Iredale
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