A wild and compelling journey for young readers.
In the second book of Colless’ middle-grade science-fantasy series, Peter Blue and his talented friends must foil a plot involving strange imps and yellow fog.
Wanda Shore is secretly burying a toy plastic unicorn, since her new school, Spiral Hall, is a plastic-free campus: “It turned out, getting into the top school to save the world came with a sacrifice.” Suddenly, a strange wind kicks up and digs up all her items, but she must temporarily leave the mess behind, because Spiral Hall is having its opening assembly of the year. The strange wind is actually made of young creatures called Renegale imps, who wreak havoc on the school after passing through its protective shield; they destroy a wind turbine and kill a flock of pelicans. The diverse mix of students, in addition to Wanda (a huge fan of the social media app ChattaFox), includes her roommate, Riva du Lac; the upbeat Roly Portagalo; science enthusiast Chu Lee Wong; Tipi Patel, who can communicate with nature spirits; and Peter Blue, a low-tech student who’s a natural leader. On his way to the assembly, Peter is asked by Global Advanced Intelligence Agency agent Artiss Fleur to gather a small group to catch the imps, whose playful games are causing the problems. At the assembly, Della Rex, vice president of the intelligence agency GAIA, reveals that a yellow fog has been unleashed on five cities, rendering their children ill. Could these events be connected? Over the course of this adventure, Colless effectively raises the stakes when three children accidentally blow out of the school’s protective force field while trying to send the imps home. The story eventually leads readers to an intriguing volcanic island where the fog is created. Along the way, Colless adeptly weaves science fiction, fantasy, and adventure story elements into an engaging tale that features child protagonists and adult antagonists. Overall, it’s a charming and intricate tale that will particularly interest youngsters concerned about environmental issues, which are a key aspect of the series.
A wild and compelling journey for young readers.Pub Date: Dec. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9789526524405
Page Count: 456
Publisher: Peter Blue Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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