by Ben Guterson ; illustrated by Chloe Bristol ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 31, 2018
An engaging blend of sleuthing, puzzle-solving, and magic.
One year after the events of Winterhouse (2018), 12-year-old Elizabeth Somers returns to the grand Winterhouse Hotel for Christmas break.
Elizabeth’s pleasure at being back with her grandfather Norbridge and her young, anagram-loving inventor friend, Freddy, and at being included in the family tree, is increased by learning that Winterhouse will now be her permanent home. The delights of living in a place with its own candy factory, a lake for skating and mountains for skiing, a large library, and movies playing nightly are appealingly detailed. But something is not quite right—two sets of unpleasant guests are behaving strangely, and Elizabeth’s great-aunt, the sorceress Gracella, might not be entirely dead. The Winterhouse seal, an intriguing riddle set into the floor, suggests hidden doorways and tests Elizabeth’s and Freddy’s puzzle-solving skills. The book adheres to a white default: None of the characters are identified by race in the text, though Freddy and librarian Leona are illustrated with dark skin; gloomy Mr. Rajput, one of the hotel’s frequent guests, is likely of South Asian descent. Elizabeth is an appealing heroine, fond of reading and puzzles, confident in her intelligence, but she grapples with her temper and emotions and worries about fitting in at school or among people in general. Though Elizabeth counts Leona among her friends, the cast is male, with the only other primary female characters fairly unlikable.
An engaging blend of sleuthing, puzzle-solving, and magic. (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: Dec. 31, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-12390-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
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by Christina Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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by Elinor Teele ; illustrated by Ben Whitehouse ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2016
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish.
The dreary prospect of spending a lifetime making caskets instead of wonderful inventions prompts a young orphan to snatch up his little sister and flee. Where? To the circus, of course.
Fortunately or otherwise, John and 6-year-old Page join up with Boz—sometime human cannonball for the seedy Wandering Wayfarers and a “vertically challenged” trickster with a fantastic gift for sowing chaos. Alas, the budding engineer barely has time to settle in to begin work on an experimental circus wagon powered by chicken poop and dubbed (with questionable forethought) the Autopsy. The hot pursuit of malign and indomitable Great-Aunt Beauregard, the Coggins’ only living relative, forces all three to leave the troupe for further flights and misadventures. Teele spins her adventure around a sturdy protagonist whose love for his little sister is matched only by his fierce desire for something better in life for them both and tucks in an outstanding supporting cast featuring several notably strong-minded, independent women (Page, whose glare “would kill spiders dead,” not least among them). Better yet, in Boz she has created a scene-stealing force of nature, a free spirit who’s never happier than when he’s stirring up mischief. A climactic clutch culminating in a magnificently destructive display of fireworks leaves the Coggin sibs well-positioned for bright futures. (Illustrations not seen.)
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish. (Adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234510-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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