Uncomplicated reading done well.
Book 1 in the Animal Rescues series tells the story of a home-schooled teen and the wild mustang she buys.
Fourteen-year-old Annie works at Top Tier Stable, an upscale barn in Colorado, and saves up her tips to buy a horse of her own. At the auction she attends with Jack, the stable manager, Jack bids on an unbroken 4-year-old mare to keep it from being acquired by the Butcher, a woman reputed to resell horses for dog food. Annie names the mare Poco and under Jack’s tutelage, learns to train her with kindness and trust. Meanwhile, she tries to ignore the jibes of the obnoxious Peggy, a girl about Annie’s age who boards an expensive horse at the stable. Jack tells Annie that Peggy has problems of her own, but Annie is disbelieving until she sees it for herself. When Peggy’s valuable thoroughbred goes missing, Annie and Jack begin to suspect foul play. Halls writes in a brisk, competent style, and Annie’s present-tense narration is straightforward. Themes of initiative and understanding are presented skillfully if fairly predictably. With the exception of an implausible decision near the end inserted for tension (why wait hours to check the surveillance footage after a valuable horse has been lost?), the story wraps up satisfyingly, with a bit of a twist regarding the Butcher.
Uncomplicated reading done well. (Fiction. 9-14)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4677-7219-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Darby Creek
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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