A summer adventure that determined young readers may enjoy.
Tracy—gratingly—delights in calling her younger brother “Pig Face”; although she has a reasonably amicable relationship with him, she appears oblivious to the hurtful nature of her chronic name-calling.
But, surprisingly, since “Pig Face” comes up over and over, that is not the point of this overlong debut novel for early chapter-book readers. Tracy, 11, her best friend, Ralph, and her astute 9-year-old brother Lester, aka Pig Face, embark on the investigation of a mystery: why was a bag of money left in the detritus under the dugout bench of their small Canadian town’s ballpark? Slightly complicating their investigation is the presence of handsome visitor Zach, whom Tracy is developing a crush on and Ralph (perhaps partly because of that) dislikes. Tracy, Ralph, and Lester, all white, pursue their investigation in a kid-appropriate way, hiding the money and asking around, using a way-too-obvious approach that’s sure to spell trouble later—and it does. There are plenty of red herrings and an unexpected villain in this plot-driven adventure that eventually explores bullying but never, disappointingly, addresses the “pig face” problem. Tracy is a colorful character, dressing in vintage clothing and not ashamed of her intelligence, and Lester is amusingly wise for his years, their well-rounded characters adding authenticity.
A summer adventure that determined young readers may enjoy. (Mystery. 9-11)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5107-0621-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Funny, poignant, and reassuringly upbeat by the end but free of glib platitudes or easy answers.
Family troubles temporarily strand 10-year-old Sunny in a Florida retirement community. Imagine the recreational possibilities.
In the hands of the sibling creators of Babymouse and Squish, even a story inspired by troubling circumstances in their own mid-1970s childhoods offers hilarious turns aplenty. Instead of a trip to the shore with a friend, Sunny finds herself on a solo flight to stay with her genial grandfather—in a development where a trip to the post office is the day’s big outing, Walt Disney World is hours away, and her exposure to senior culture includes being fawned over by old ladies. Happily, there is one other child around: Buzz, a groundskeeper’s boy, who turns her on to superhero comics and joins her in starting up a moderately lucrative business recovering golf balls and residents’ (illegal) lost cats. Less happily, interspersed flashbacks reveal the reason for the sudden change of plans by tracking her older brother Dale’s increasingly erratic behavior and drug abuse, leading up to an intervention in the wake of a violent incident. Colored by Lark Pien in subdued hues that subtly reflect Sunny’s state of mind, the sequential panels present both storylines in a mix of terse labels, brief dialogue, and, particularly, silent, effective reaction shots.
Funny, poignant, and reassuringly upbeat by the end but free of glib platitudes or easy answers. (afterword) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-74165-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
A breezy mixture of low humor and high (if brief) suspense.
The arrival next door of a villain bent on destroying the world adds further worries to a neurotic lad’s already long list.
Wilf is initially inclined to discount new neighbor Alan’s self-identification as “an evil lunatic.” He is forced to change his mind after rescuing little sister Dot from being loaded into a bazooka, getting a gander at Alan’s high-tech underground lair, and hearing him trumpet a scheme to blast the world with a Powerful All-Nuclear Terror System (“Just wait till I unleash the true horror of my PANTS!”). Thumb firmly on the laffs button, Pritchett, a TV comedy writer, pitches her “staggerblasted” young worrier into one “kerfuffle” after another. The feckless but monomaniacal malefactor repeatedly tries to unleash widespread destruction—only to be foiled by either a slacker minion or, twice, something sticky shoved down the barrel of his Big Gun Thingy. Along with typographical high jinks, the tale features both plenty of comically melodramatic cartoon illustrations and silly drawings that Wilf makes to defuse his many anxieties. By the end, said hang-ups have lost much of their old force. Alan may be fitted with a wife and other appurtenances of adulthood, but he’s really a tantrum-prone 2-year-old, and readers will easily see through the disguise.
A breezy mixture of low humor and high (if brief) suspense. (Farce. 9-11)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62365-822-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Mobius
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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