A smoothly written fantasy that deftly balances adventure and science education.
A boy in training at an elite school searches for his missing father in this middle-grade fantasy.
Eleven-year-old Peter Blue has just enrolled at Spiral Hall, an island-based school for the “ecodemically gifted.” As an environmentally conscious kid, he’ll be further trained to use nature’s gifts in the battle against waste, pollutants, and freakish weather. These elements are embodied by the Anthrogs, creatures born of toxic environments. Five years ago, Peter’s parents died in a fire. His father, Byron, was a top agent of the Global Advanced Intelligence Agency, and Peter now wears the man’s high-tech jacket. In a dream, Byron’s ghost tells his son, “Never capitulate!” Peter’s mentor, GAIA Agent Artiss Fleur, is sure that Byron is alive and held captive by the Anthrogs. This possibility proves distracting as Peter must join the new class at Spiral Hall competing in the Race Across the Earth, a course comprising various hostile weather regions created by climate change. He’s joined by children his age, including science whiz Chu Lee Wong and Peter’s soon-to-be best friend, Roly Portagalo. In tracking down Byron, Peter and company will meet nonhumans, like Agent Livingstone, and Havok, a dangerous Stormlord. If the kids survive the experience, their careers as eco-warriors will still be just beginning. Colless has created a kind of Hogwarts that operates on the magic of environmental awareness. Students must care for and bond with a young tree, which will in turn nurture them. Chu, the naïve scientist, says: “I don’t believe in things like that.” The narrative boldly confronts the anthropocentric question “Wasn’t everything on Earth for humans to put to use?” Plot devices like the “Eat or Be Eaten” game superbly explain energy cycles to younger readers. In the second half, a clever exploration of the Trojan Horse concept raises the stakes in Peter’s hunt for his father. The author skillfully gives several children the spotlight throughout the adventure. Pickles the wallaby proves a unique addition to a diverse cast of characters that fans will feel a kinship with by the finale.
A smoothly written fantasy that deftly balances adventure and science education.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2022
ISBN: 978-9529460588
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Peter Blue Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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