Welcome back, Malcolm.
The critters of the Midnight Academy must find a way to save McKenna Elementary School from destruction.
The old building is in desperate need of repair, and funds are not available to take on the monumental task. The Midnight Academy, made up of a variety of unusual, intelligent, and eccentric “inside” animals, is a secret society that has both an immensely detailed collective memory and a deep love of the children and staff, past and present. Malcolm, the fifth grade’s lovable pet rat, who can read and is able to communicate with the humans, takes the lead as the Academy works to find a solution that will save the school. Continuing the format of Malcolm at Midnight (2012), the narration again is in the guise of an anonymous report, complete with delightful asides and footnotes, sent to fifth-grade teacher Mr. Binney. Beck takes readers through a labyrinth of secret codes, hidden clues, clandestine meetings with outside animals, promises made and broken, hopeful leads, and crushing disappointments. A time capsule, a roof collapse, and the return of a former enemy add to the twists and turns of a fast-paced roller coaster of a plot. Malcolm’s ponderings on the nature of revenge, compassion, loss, and friendship are seamlessly woven into the plot. Lies’ gray-toned, textured pencil-and-graphite illustrations add dimension and personality to the creatures.
Welcome back, Malcolm. (Animal fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-39267-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Read this work in the light of day, or Timothy July’s nightmares just might become your own. A series of seemingly random acts of creepiness opens the tale—bloody water rushing from a washing machine, visions of the dead, a monster in a swimming pool, an evil lunatic with a magic jawbone, evil ghost girls haunting Abigail and nightmares haunting Timothy. And who is that man in a gray overcoat who seems present at every evil occurrence? Surely there’s a connection among the events, and readers who hang in there as Timothy and his classmate Abigail figure out the mysterious proceedings will be rewarded with an exciting tale of mystery and horror. As in Poblocki’s first novel, The Stone Child (2009), the young sleuths uncover clues leading them to climactic scenes involving giant creatures, hideous evil and a blending of fantasy and reality. A good match with Rick Riordan’s The Red Pyramid (2010), another nonstop action tale with a boy and a girl joining hands to face the forces of chaos. (Horror. 9-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-375-84256-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The second installment of The Nightshade Chronicles doesn’t disappoint.
Nightshade City is populated by intelligent and long-lived rats who escaped from a lab that was conducting experiments on them and then managed to defeat Billycan, an albino rat turned evil and über-violent by a series of injections administered in that same lab. As this volume opens, Juniper and the other citizens of Nightshade discover that Billycan, otherwise known as the White Assassin, is building an army of swamp rats to retake Nightshade City. They also discover something much harder to believe: There is a traitor in their ranks. Someone is in cahoots with Billycan. Who could it possibly be? Juniper and his friends manage to capture Billycan, take him back to Nightshade City and administer a truth serum in hopes of learning the identity of the traitor. But something strange happens when the truth serum is administered. Billycan seems like a different rat. Has he somehow changed, or is it all an act? Many surprises are in store in this volume, surprises that will cause the rats—and readers, too—to reevaluate their perceptions of family, loyalty, justice and culpability. Wagner's worldbuilding carries readers through these heavy themes with ease. The ending satisfies, but there are some definite loose ends. Look forward to more adventures in Nightshade City. (Animal fantasy. 9-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2333-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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