Just the right mix of mystery and kooky fun.
Ben Braver: superhero or superzero?
With best friend Finn moved away, Ben Braver has spent the summer binge-watching Adam West–era Batman, playing video games alone, and reading comics…and wishing to be a hero. When he responds to a cry for help, the resultant conflict with school bully (and evidently supervillain) Dexter Dunn leaves Ben frozen—literally. Ben is whisked away from the hospital by mysterious, old Donald Kepler, who invites Ben to Kepler Academy, “a secret school for kids with special abilities,” hinting Ben may have “abilities” of his own. Once Ben’s sure it’s not an elaborate prank, he agrees, wondering what his superpower…er, “ability" will be when it manifests. However, Kepler Academy is no school for training heroes à la the Xavier Institute of X-Men fame; aside from ordinary classes, Kepler trains its students not to use their powers. While Ben tries to figure out why Kepler recruited him, he and his fireball-belching roommate, Noah, and their small-animal–controlling friend, Penny, uncover a mystery. Can they figure out what’s causing students to act like zombies (and eat worms!)? With this title, Emerson launches a new series narrated by sarcastic sixth-grader Ben. The inline comics proffer punchlines and extra laughs (some are metacomments on the action of the tale); in the illustrations, black-haired Ben and blonde Penny are depicted with light skin and Noah with dark. Fans of superhero fiction will laugh out loud and identify with the aggressively regular Ben.
Just the right mix of mystery and kooky fun. (Graphic/adventure hybrid. 7-12)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62672-710-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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
Thought-provoking and charming.
A sophisticated robot—with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell—is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500.
When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment—not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different “accent”). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz’s growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell’s The Animal Family. At every moment Roz’s actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz’s benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions—and readers—with hope.
Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-38199-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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