Robertson’s now-familiar formula satisfies once again.
“Do you guys almost get killed or have to save the world, or somebody, every time you come here?”
The “guys” in question are Morgan and Eli, the Cree foster siblings who have moved between Earth and Askí for adventures aplenty in the previous three volumes of the Misewa Saga. They are talking to Emily, Morgan’s white girlfriend, who has traveled with them to this magical world populated by Cree-speaking animals called pisiskowak. In this volume, they learn that humans from Earth have somehow crossed into Askí and are kidnapping pisiskowak for display in a Winnipeg zoo. The focus in this outing changes from Morgan to Eli, who learns that his portal-opening powers are more extensive than he’d imagined. Though he shifts perspective, Robertson (Norway House Cree Nation) nevertheless delivers what series fans have come to expect: fast-paced adventure, humorous banter, and tender explorations of Indigenous experiences. Pisiskowak characters from earlier adventures make welcome returns, and the new animal beings the kids meet are excellent additions to the cast. One uses they/them pronouns, extending the series’ LGBTQ+ content beyond Morgan and Emily’s relationship. Critical revelations about Eli’s heritage and a bloody battle both close the tale and open the way for the next entry.
Robertson’s now-familiar formula satisfies once again. (map, pronunciation guide, glossary) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781774880258
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
A half-baked jumble of poorly connected themes, incidents, and tropes.
Eleven-year-old Georgie sets out to the rescue after seeing his dad snatched into thin air by a hideous figure.
In a confusing debut that reads like a first draft, the kidnapping impels the young slingshot expert to go from doggedly enduring vicious bullying at school to intrepidly plunging after his father through a portal to Scatterplot, an otherworldly realm where the memories of everyone in New York are uploaded by omnilingual Scribes. Classmates Apurva Aluwhalia (who’s cued South Asian) and Roscoe Harris (who reads Black and is confined to a role that’s largely limited to comic relief), each motivated by their own concerns, follow white-presenting Georgie on his adventure. In Scatterplot, they must remain alert for the “tribe” of “bad people” called Altercockers, formed by the exiled Rollie D. Meanwhile, Flint Eldritch, the menacing figure who was responsible for Georgie’s father’s disappearance, is bent on using the Aetherquill, a magical pen that can rewrite reality in unpredictable ways, to replace all those recorded memories with fake ones. In a story that’s marred by stilted dialogue, flat characterization, and awkward turns of phrase, Georgie and his friends, along with Scatterplot siblings Edie and Ore, embark on a quest to save both his father and the entire realm. The puss-oozing, misshapen villain Flint, crawling with bugs, does at least provide a memorably lurid element of horror. The novel ends with an abrupt cliffhanger.
A half-baked jumble of poorly connected themes, incidents, and tropes. (Fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9798886453164
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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