Action-packed.
Two siblings must defend the last surviving city on Earth.
Decades ago, humanity was divided into two groups: those who inhabit Flood City—like Max and Yala Salazar—and the Chemical Barons, who ruled over Earth but took off into space when it was devastated by the Floods. Now, the Chemical Barons want to return to Earth, and Mephim, an ArchBaron in the Chemical Dynasty, has a nefarious plan to achieve this. But, when Ato, a young Baron in training, discovers the truth behind a routine reconnaissance mission, he questions his loyalties in the battle between the Barons, the Earthlings, and the Star Guard Conglomerate, peacekeepers and providers of food rations for the people of Flood City. Back on Earth, Yala secretly wants to join the Star Guard and help fight the Chemical Barons even if she doesn’t agree with everything they do—and when the Barons attack, the struggle for survival begins. The cast is diverse, and race is a factor in this world in which predominantly Black and brown people were left behind in Flood City while mostly White people escaped. This element of the story, which parallels real-life environmental inequities, is mentioned in passing as something Baron histories uncomfortably avoid engaging with and that forcibly strikes Ato when he arrives on Earth. Jarring perspective changes keep readers moving through Flood City and its airspace but can be confusing to follow. Older’s signature infusion of fantastical elements into the dystopian environment grounds readers in the characters’ high-stakes challenges.
Action-packed. (Science fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-11112-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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