After their previous adventure in the past (The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming, 2005), Anand and Nisha are thrust into the future in this satisfying trilogy closer. A malevolent force has stolen the sacred conch, and bereft of its protection, Anand’s Himalayan valley home has vanished into magical purgatory. Racing off in hope of rescue, Anand and Nisha find themselves imprisoned in a dismal dystopia. The residents of Coal live in brutal poverty and need masks to breathe their city’s fetid air. Only Coal’s scientists live in luxury, fed and served by enslaved, mute prisoners. Their instinct tells them to distrust the cold scientist Dr. S. and put their faith in the city’s outlawed magicians-in-hiding. Nothing in Coal is straightforward, however: Dr. S.’s harshly rational exterior hides the frightened little girl she once was. The teenagers must race against time to rescue the conch in a world where science is at war with magic and distrust rules the day. By reminding the many villains of the joys of love and fellowship, they just might succeed. Enjoyably sappy. (Fantasy. 9-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59643-153-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2009
The Galactic Confederation is nothing if not fair. Before they commit to annihilating the human race, they’ll send an emissary to ensure it is without redemption. Ketchvar III, a hyperintelligent snail from the planet Sandoval, is determined to find the worth of the human race by merging consciousness with the most typical specimen of humanity he can find. That specimen is Tom Filber, “Caucasian, fourteen years old, and in good health.” But perhaps Ketchvar has chosen poorly: Tom’s mother is a violent, shrewish woman, his father is an unemployed alcoholic and his classmates—though ignorant of Ketchvar—all refer to Tom as “Alien.” Are humans truly vile, or has Ketchvar chosen a particularly dysfunctional family to analyze? Not surprisingly, Ketchvar’s study of humanity becomes a life lesson for Ketchvar himself, as he tries to fix some of the problems in Tom’s family and town. Despite hackneyed gender stereotypes and a cast of stock characters, the painful humor (or perhaps the humorous pain) of Ketchvar’s adventure will win fans. (Science fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 16, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-374-39951-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2010
The worldbuilding of countless eco-thrillers serves here as the setting for a classic Western. A Western, that is, with plankton instead of cows, harpoons instead of six-shooters and submarines instead of covered wagons. Ty lives below the ocean, in a future in which water levels have risen and Topsiders live cramped together in unbearable conditions. Undersea, any brave settler can stake a claim and build a huge homestead. Ty was born down here, and he loves it. When he encounters freckle-faced Topsider orphan Gemma, he revels in showing her his world, from inflatable houses shaped like jellyfish to beautiful schools of swordfish. If only they weren’t in danger from the villainous Seablite gang that keeps attacking homesteads! This caper features a slew of Western standards—the crabby old doctor (“Doc”), the saloon filled with bandanna-clad thugs, the posse of furious citizens—and a few plot twists keep the tension high. A thrilling conversion of the classics to one of our newer frontiers. (Science fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-17814-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2010
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