Flimsy, forced, and stale.
Siblings are thrown into a dangerous magical world.
Alex, 10, and Emma, 13, live with their cruel antiques-dealer uncle in a house with 252 rooms, 17 Victrolas (Alex calls them “hundred-year-old record players”), and no connection with the modern outside world. Their parents died on an archaeological dig (Alex believes this, but Emma does not), searching for an artifact that would restore magic to a world called the Conjurian. Their quest was pressing because nowadays, “Magic is dying” there. One night, horrifying creatures burst into the mansion and chase the siblings into a secret passage and out into that other realm. Monsters and smugglers loom; the head of this land’s ruling circle might be defending the realm from evil—or might be creating illusions of evil to gain more power. Within this adventurous setup, prose is clunky and pacing drags. Even the cliffhanger ending, with one sibling under a collapsed building and the other underwater unable to swim, lights no spark—readers know by then that this story’s flashy dangers resolve quickly without substance. An ongoing sibling debate on whether magic exists—even as magic unfolds before their eyes—is preposterous. In a threadbare, distasteful trope, Anderson repeatedly uses facial disfigurement—including eyelessness—to symbolize evil. Moreover, for no apparent reason besides traditional gender roles, both Alex’s parents and the text itself explicitly place younger brother Alex as superior to older sister Emma. Alex, Emma, and most characters seem white by default.
Flimsy, forced, and stale. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: July 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-553-49865-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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