The riddle of what to read for a day of wily what-ifs is answered here in fantastic fashion.
Find your own laughs in this labyrinthine comedy, the latest in Shiga’s choose-your-own-adventure-style series.
Though this installment follows the same structure as Leviathan (2022), it stands alone; readers need not be familiar with the previous volume. An introduction includes instructions for navigating this puzzle story, which opens with a tutorial that leads into the main narrative. Pink-skinned Mario Rivera ventures forth from a mysterious waiting room into the worlds of different books. Readers make a variety of choices for Mario, from the mundane (pushing or pulling on a door) to the dramatic (whether to force a pirate to walk the plank). Mario’s guide, light-skinned Xochitl, helps orient Mario and readers to the rules of entering and exiting books. Cheaters who disregard the story’s unique structure and flip around will rob themselves of the joy of discovering the various solutions to its clever password system. New routes and characters are their own rewards, as they bring with them an unpredictable sense of humor that ranges from slapstick to wordplay. The restricted palette of reds, grays, and browns and simple, almost stick figure–like illustrations are used to depict all routes; though readers will notice clues as to what’s going on, they aren’t readily apparent on a quick flip-through. A brief bonus chapter of gags closes out the book.
The riddle of what to read for a day of wily what-ifs is answered here in fantastic fashion. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2023
ISBN: 9781419757815
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
Plays to Rowling’s fan base; equally suited for gifting and reading aloud or alone.
A 7-year-old descends into the Land of the Lost in search of his beloved comfort object.
Jack has loved Dur Pig long enough to wear the beanbag toy into tattered shapelessness—which is why, when his angry older stepsister chucks it out the car window on Christmas Eve, he not only throws a titanic tantrum and viciously rejects the titular replacement pig, but resolves to sneak out to find DP. To his amazement, the Christmas Pig offers to guide him to the place where all lost Things go. Whiffs of childhood classics, assembled with admirable professionalism into a jolly adventure story that plays all the right chords, hang about this tale of loss and love. Along with family drama, Rowling stirs in fantasy, allegory, and generous measures of social and political commentary. Pursued by the Land’s cruel and monstrous Loser, Jack and the Christmas Pig pass through territories from the Wastes of the Unlamented, where booger-throwing Bad Habits roam, to the luxurious City of the Missed for encounters with Hope, Happiness, and Power (a choleric king who rejects a vote that doesn’t go his way). A joyful reunion on the Island of the Beloved turns poignant, but Christmas Eve being “a night for miracles and lost causes,” perhaps there’s still a chance (with a little help from Santa) for everything to come right? In both the narrative and Field’s accomplished, soft-focus illustrations, the cast presents White.
Plays to Rowling’s fan base; equally suited for gifting and reading aloud or alone. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-79023-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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