A hilarious romp through a new underground world.
Chance Bee Jeopard’s summer goal is to dig the deepest hole in Starling, Texas.
The hole is an impressive 7 ½ feet deep when the 12-year-old white boy’s shovel strikes a pipe, and out of the pipe flies an alarming letter. The 1.8 million patients and staff of the 955-year-old St. Philomene’s Infirmary for Magical Creatures are in mortal danger. A human carrying a lethal virus is on the loose, and Chance must race to get the wayward letter, which contains the cure, to its addressee—the one inhabitant of St. Philomene’s who can save the lives of every creature within. With the help of his skeptic sister, crimson-haired Pauline Dearie Jeopard, and her goth pal, Mersey Marsh (both are white), the risk-taking Chance knows he can do it. The infirmary is over 6,000 stories—nearly 10 miles—deep, a half-mile wide, and a half-mile long, and it is populated by both familiar supernatural creatures such as vampires, ghouls, and zombies and those specific to St. Philomene’s cleverly drawn world, such as militant Balliopes, elflike Deviklopts, and resourceful Geckasofts. The omniscient narrator moves with ease among Chance, Pauline, Meresy, and several secondary characters. The infirmary’s many species make up a diverse world, while aboveground, a few of Chance’s friends have names that suggest they are children of color.
A hilarious romp through a new underground world. (Fantasy. 8-14)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62779-257-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
A solid series starter for tinkerers and adventurers alike.
Even robot cats have a mind of their own.
All 12-year-old Canadian Lacey Chu’s ever wanted was to become a companioneer like her idol, Monica Chan, co-founder of the largest tech firm in North America, Moncha Corp., and mastermind behind the baku. Bakus, “robotic pets with all the features of a smartphone,” revolutionized society and how people interact with technology. As a companioneer, Lacey could work on bakus: designing, innovating, and building. When she receives a grant rejection from Profectus Academy of Science and Technology, a school that guarantees employment at Moncha Corp., she’s devastated. A happenstance salvaging of a mangled cat baku might just change the game. Suddenly, Lacey’s got an in with Profectus and is one step closer to her dream. Jinx, however, is not quite like the other bakus—he’s a wild cat that does things without commands. Together with Jinx, Lacey will have to navigate competitive classmates and unsettling corporate secrets. McCulloch effectively strikes a balance between worldbuilding and action. High-stakes baku battles demonstrate the emotional bond between (robotic) pet and owner. Readers will also connect to the relationships the Asian girl forges with her diverse classmates, including a rivalry with Carter (a white boy who’s the son of Moncha’s other co-founder, Eric Smith), a burgeoning crush on student Tobias, who’s black, and evolving friendships new and old. While some mysteries are solved, a cliffhanger ending raises even more for the next installment.
A solid series starter for tinkerers and adventurers alike. (Science fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8374-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
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