An occasionally confusing but engaging, adventure-filled fantasy.
Hunter’s (Lucky Horseshoes, 2012) colorful YA folk tale about a poor boy named Yubi who goes on a quest with a copper vessel, a sea urchin shell and a talking rat to save a princess.
Orphan boy Yubi, working in the lavender mill of the mythical kingdom of Lavendula, is chosen by the town’s old witch to give the ruling family’s daughter, Princess Anjali, a magic copper vase. When the princess goes missing the next day, the town elders throw the witch, Isabella, into the sea and burn her cave while seeking the one who gave the princess the copper vase. Before the witch’s cave is burned, the boy steals another copper vase, along with a magic sea urchin shell, and meets up with a magical talking blue-tailed rat named Alex as he escapes the town elders by going to sea. While on the ship, Yubi discovers that thugs, lead by Cross-Eyed Org, kidnapped the princess and sold her to the sultan on the order of the town elders, who seek to reign in her stead. The tale, told unevenly in varying styles, includes words that kids (and adults) are unlikely to know, e.g., “lokum.” A game called Fiasco, with its convoluted rules and odd lingo—“Tie for high,” “lost the trick”— may also baffle readers. A negative portrayal of gypsies as stereotypical greedy kidnappers and thieves further mars the storytelling: “One sly-eyed gypsy with a huge hooked nose hollered at the cornered pair, ‘We want your gold!’ ” Still, Yubi’s ability to escape harm and survive each action-packed chapter speeds the story along, as does the orphan’s bravery in surmounting obstacles, his kindly concern for all living things and his intention to rescue Princess Anjali. The magic copper vases, one of which turns into a flying saucer, and the talking rat, who is really more wizard than rodent, all add imagination and interest to the adventure.
An occasionally confusing but engaging, adventure-filled fantasy.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2011
ISBN: 978-1460931479
Page Count: 184
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 21, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Thought-provoking and charming.
A sophisticated robot—with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell—is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500.
When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment—not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different “accent”). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz’s growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell’s The Animal Family. At every moment Roz’s actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz’s benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions—and readers—with hope.
Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-38199-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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