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
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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
Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this...
Sentenced to a brutal juvenile detention camp for a crime he didn't commit, a wimpy teenager turns four generations of bad family luck around in this sunburnt tale of courage, obsession, and buried treasure from Sachar (Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, 1995, etc.).
Driven mad by the murder of her black beau, a schoolteacher turns on the once-friendly, verdant town of Green Lake, Texas, becomes feared bandit Kissin' Kate Barlow, and dies, laughing, without revealing where she buried her stash. A century of rainless years later, lake and town are memories—but, with the involuntary help of gangs of juvenile offenders, the last descendant of the last residents is still digging. Enter Stanley Yelnats IV, great-grandson of one of Kissin' Kate's victims and the latest to fall to the family curse of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; under the direction of The Warden, a woman with rattlesnake venom polish on her long nails, Stanley and each of his fellow inmates dig a hole a day in the rock-hard lake bed. Weeks of punishing labor later, Stanley digs up a clue, but is canny enough to conceal the information of which hole it came from. Through flashbacks, Sachar weaves a complex net of hidden relationships and well-timed revelations as he puts his slightly larger-than-life characters under a sun so punishing that readers will be reaching for water bottles.
Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this rugged, engrossing adventure. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 978-0-374-33265-5
Page Count: 233
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000
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