THE ADVENTURE IS NOW

When life deals precocious, friendless Milton P. Greene a blow, he escapes into his hand-held video game.

Exploring the game’s island with intrepid naturalist Sea Hawk is impossible after Milton’s divorcing parents send him to visit his real-life naturalist uncle on an actual tropical island with no electricity and that used to be owned by Uncle Evan’s mentor, the late Dr. Ava Paradis. Still smarting from the loss of his only friend, Milton gets the chance at a friendship reboot after meeting the resident scientists’ children, Rafi and Gabe Alvarez and Fig Morris. Though unfriendly Rafi rebuffs him, Fig, if skeptical, welcomes his company. Dr. Paradis had described amazing flora and fauna, but despite scientists’ efforts, few have been verified, as the impenetrable Truth-Will-Out Vine closed off the interior after her death. When Milton discovers how to part the vines, he finds Dr. Paradis’ field guide—a mystery until Fig decodes it. Learning that the island will almost certainly be sold to a developer, Rafi and Gabe unexpectedly join the urgent quest to find species like the Push-Pull Centopus and Menu-You Bush and prevent the sale. The story is entertaining and fast-moving but suffers from slapdash execution and jarring shifts in tone. The silly flora and fauna, played for laughs, clash with potentially effective messages about bullying, loneliness, and family breakup and undercut the sincere environmentalist theme. Milton is presumed White; Rafi and Gabe are Latinx, and Fig is cued as Black.

All the ingredients of a first-rate fantasy, disappointingly half-baked.