A nail-biting, heart-pounding—and heartbreaking—adventure.
The return of a long-lost sister disrupts the peace of a quiet town.
Melur, a Malaysian girl at a U.S. summer camp, wanders into the woods on a dare in order to find the Witch of Cabin 23. The Witch tells her a terrifying tale about a 12-year-old Malaysian girl named Alia who’s moved with her family from Kuala Lumpur back to Negeri Sembilan, where she grew up. Alia struggles to fit in; she also hears eerie noises and feels as though someone’s watching her. Things start to look up when her older sister, Ayu, now 21, returns after mysteriously leaving home years ago. But strange things keep happening, and her classmates report seeing a floating head in the night sky. Could it be a penanggalan, a vampiric monster that, according to Malaysian lore, preys upon children and can remove its head? Alia’s parents are thrilled at Ayu’s return, but Alia suspects that Ayu is connected to the odd occurrences, and she devises a plan to uncover the truth. The reality she confronts is far more complex than she could have ever imagined. The latest in this anthology series—each of which is written by a different author—beautifully weaves Malaysian folklore into a gripping, deeply moving thriller that grapples with the devastating toll that secrets can take upon a family. Both Melur and Alia are Muslim; Melur wears hijab, while Alia often repeats Quranic verses to herself.
A nail-biting, heart-pounding—and heartbreaking—adventure. (Horror. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9780063283947
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Classic action-packed, monster-fighting fun
It’s been 42 days since the Monster Apocalypse began, and 13-year-old Jack Sullivan, a self-proclaimed “zombie-fighting, monster-slaying tornado of cool” is on a quest to find and rescue his not-so-secret crush, June Del Toro, whether she needs it, wants it, or not.
Jack cobbles together an unlikely but endearing crew, including his scientist best friend, Quint Baker; Dirk Savage, Parker Middle School’s biggest bully; and a pet monster named Rover, to help him save the damsel in distress and complete the “ULTIMATE Feat of Apocalyptic Success.” Middle-grade readers, particularly boys, will find Jack’s pitch-perfect mix of humor, bravado, and self-professed geekiness impossible to resist. His sidekicks are equally entertaining, and it doesn’t hurt that there are also plenty of oozing, drooling, sharp-toothed monsters and zombies and a host of gizmos and gadgets to hook readers and keep them cheering with every turn of the page. Holgate’s illustrations play an integral role in the novel’s success. They not only bring Brallier’s characters to life, but also add depth and detail to the story, making plain just exactly how big Rover is and giving the lie to Jack’s “killer driving.” The marriage of text and illustration serves as a perfect example of what an illustrated novel can and should be.
Classic action-packed, monster-fighting fun (. (Graphic/horror hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-670-01661-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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