A fun, accessibly written concept marred by contrivance.
A human boy attends a ghostly boarding school.
In this translated German import, the parents of Leonard Hohenklaue (named after his grandfather’s beloved dachshund) are leaving for a research expedition in the Amazon. Consequently, Lenny will attend Shadowsnout Castle Academy in the German village of Great Wandelstein. Once at the school, however, Lenny quickly notices oddities, including floating lessons, invisible food and drink, and a distinctly nocturnal schedule. When Lenny meets Polly, another human pupil, she tells him the story of the castle’s past and explains that its future is endangered by a pushy developer. As Lenny tries to navigate both the human and spirit worlds, can he help save the castle before it’s too late? Reifenberg woos readers with hijinks and high spirits, but the thin plot relies heavily upon poop and fart references and pratfalls that some may tire of. Humorous grayscale illustrations depicting light-skinned humans are interspersed throughout the short chapters, helping with comedic timing and contributing sight gags. Conceptually, this work has the potential to be a silly Goosebumps-esque page-turner, but it misses its mark. The ending employs a trope that may satisfy and surprise some less-experienced genre readers but could leave others howling louder than an angry poltergeist.
A fun, accessibly written concept marred by contrivance. (Paranormal. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781662517518
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Amazon Crossing Kids
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
Supernatural mystery meets generational drama with hopeful endings for all.
Eleven-year-old Frank must solve a supernatural mystery to save his new home.
As fifth grade comes to an end, Frank Fernández is looking forward to finally staying put in Alabama for a second year, as promised, after a childhood spent following his parents’ home renovation work all across the country. Frequent relocation has made Frank wary of forming friendships or making plans, but his hopes for more stability are temporarily dashed when his parents announce plans to renovate a lighthouse in the Florida Keys, near where his mother grew up and his father’s home country of Cuba. Papi promises this will be their last move, though: The lighthouse will be theirs. But from their first day on Spectacle Key, things seem to go wrong: Tensions rise between his parents, and Frank’s hopes of a forever home are under threat from seemingly supernatural forces. In order to put down roots, Frank and new ghostly friend Connie, a White girl with freckles, must discover what secrets the island is hiding, uncovering Frank’s own family roots along the way. Frank is a fan of horror—he names his new Great Dane puppy Mary Shelley. But though there is some mild peril to be found, rather than a ghostly thriller, this is an appealing, lightly spooky family drama with valuable lessons for those who would hide from a difficult past instead of confronting and healing generational trauma.
Supernatural mystery meets generational drama with hopeful endings for all. (Supernatural. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-313481-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Funny delivery, but some jokes really miss the mark.
An animal ghost seeks closure after enduring aquatic atrocities.
In this sequel to The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter (2020), sixth grader Rex is determined to once again use his ability to communicate with dead animals for the greater good. A ghost narwhal’s visit gives Rex his next opportunity in the form of the clue “bad water.” Rex enlists Darvish—his Pakistani American human best friend—and Drumstick—his “faithful (dead) chicken”—to help crack the case. But the mystery is only one of Rex’s many roadblocks. For starters, Sami Mulpepper hugged him at a dance, and now she’s his “accidental girlfriend.” Even worse, Darvish develops one of what Rex calls “Game Preoccupation Disorders” over role-playing game Monsters & Mayhem that may well threaten the pair’s friendship. Will Rex become “a Sherlock without a Watson,” or can the two make amends in time to solve the mystery? This second outing effectively carries the “ghost-mist” torch from its predecessor without feeling too much like a formulaic carbon copy. Spouting terms like plausible deniability and in flagrante delicto, Rex makes for a hilariously bombastic (if unlikable) first-person narrator. The over-the-top style is contagious, and black-and-white illustrations throughout add cartoony punchlines to various scenes. Unfortunately, scenes in which humor comes at the expense of those with less status are downright cringeworthy, as when Rex, who reads as White, riffs on the impossibility of his ever pronouncing Darvish’s surname or he plays dumb by staring into space and drooling.
Funny delivery, but some jokes really miss the mark. (Paranormal mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5523-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
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