There are plenty of surprises in this caper with heart.
What are the odds of a life-or-death mystery in Elk Grove Park, Illinois?
Sixth graders Oliver Beane, whose parents divorced last year, and Frankie Figge, whose working parents often leave him in charge of his twin toddler brothers, will never be popular. When a new, weird girl named Matilda Sandoval moves to town and sort of befriends them, it seems a good fit. But she is sure someone is surveilling Oliver. It can’t have anything to do with the mysterious disappearance of Preston Oglethorpe, their middle school’s eccentric-genius namesake, can it? The trio decides to find him themselves and sort things out. Oglethorpe’s research into chaos theory had given him a mechanism to predict—even influence—events using mathematical equations. Some odd things are happening around town: There’s a rock band forming in the old folks’ home and a new man in Oliver’s mother’s life. Is there a pattern? Maybe the kids aren’t the only ones on Oglethorpe’s trail...and the competition may be deadly. Following A Drop of Hope (2019), Calabrese’s smartly written sophomore effort is a Rube Goldberg–ian romp sure to please brainy kid readers with its trio of protagonists. All the kid characters have real-world problems on top of dealing with a possibly evil genius and wannabe supervillains, grounding the narrative nicely. Some Spanish surnames notwithstanding, the cast appears to be a mostly white one.
There are plenty of surprises in this caper with heart. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-35403-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
Fiercely feisty and unapologetically goofy.
Three young girls are tasked with saving their town from a vicious worm.
This romp from actor McKinnon introduces the three Porch girls: Gertrude, age 12 and three-quarters, Eugenia, age 12 and one-eighth, and Dee-Dee, age 11. Cared for by Aunt Desdemona and Uncle Ansel (along with their seven cousins, who are all named Lavinia), they’re forced to live in a ramshackle shed at the edge of the property. In a classic turn of events, the sisters are invited to a new school run by a certain Millicent Quibb. Under Quibb’s eccentric tutelage, the trio learn that the nefarious Krenetics Research Association, hoping to release their founder, Talon Sharktūth, from his vault, has bred a Kyrgalops, a vicious stone- and puppy-chomping worm, which may destroy their entire town. McKinnon’s middle-grade debut is grandiosely silly, reminiscent of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events in both its sesquipedalian language and tone and in relying heavily on its bespoke lexicon, verbal gymnastics, and cheeky footnotes to deliver jokes. Interspersed throughout are bits of visual interest—poems and songs, schematics, and bits of correspondence. Though the action rockets along at a Pixy Stix–fueled pace, many questions are left unanswered or unaddressed, making this series opener exposition heavy and a bit frustrating. Still, readers will ultimately be left hopeful that subsequent volumes will offer something meatier. The illustrations cue some diversity of skin tone among the characters.
Fiercely feisty and unapologetically goofy. (map, afterword, appendices) (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780316554732
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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
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