A breathless, adventure-filled combination of fantastical and futuristic.
Can a motley crew of tweens survive merciless faeries and wartime dangers?
Luka promised his younger sister, Elena, that he would feed the faeries when she’s evacuated to the Islands to escape wartime raids and bombing. Too late Luka realizes that the faeries, bloodthirsty and dedicated to upholding the lore, are as real as the war devastating Bellum City. Now Luka and his unlikely band of two other human boys, Max and Hazel; a rogue faerie; and a loyal dog have just three days to save themselves, Elena, and the entire City. This futuristic fantasy, set in an alternate Britain, blends historical elements of World War II, such as air raids and the evacuation of children, with cellphones, texting, and countless tech gadgets. Fueled by an endless stream of thrilling chases, fistfights, and perilous close calls, the plot’s urgency is ratcheted ever higher as each action-packed plot twist unfolds. In addition to threats from faeries and the war, Luka finds himself on the wrong side of a gang of ruthless Lost Boys led by the gleefully mad Junkyard Knight. The action is exciting, each seemingly impossible escape from certain death more incredible than the last. The strong camaraderie between Luka and his friends counteracts some sentimental and implausible changes of heart. The tidy conclusion clearly leaves the characters primed for a sequel. Olive-skinned Luka’s family speaks Italian; Max is White and Hazel is Black.
A breathless, adventure-filled combination of fantastical and futuristic. (Adventure. 10-13)Pub Date: March 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11613-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish.
The dreary prospect of spending a lifetime making caskets instead of wonderful inventions prompts a young orphan to snatch up his little sister and flee. Where? To the circus, of course.
Fortunately or otherwise, John and 6-year-old Page join up with Boz—sometime human cannonball for the seedy Wandering Wayfarers and a “vertically challenged” trickster with a fantastic gift for sowing chaos. Alas, the budding engineer barely has time to settle in to begin work on an experimental circus wagon powered by chicken poop and dubbed (with questionable forethought) the Autopsy. The hot pursuit of malign and indomitable Great-Aunt Beauregard, the Coggins’ only living relative, forces all three to leave the troupe for further flights and misadventures. Teele spins her adventure around a sturdy protagonist whose love for his little sister is matched only by his fierce desire for something better in life for them both and tucks in an outstanding supporting cast featuring several notably strong-minded, independent women (Page, whose glare “would kill spiders dead,” not least among them). Better yet, in Boz she has created a scene-stealing force of nature, a free spirit who’s never happier than when he’s stirring up mischief. A climactic clutch culminating in a magnificently destructive display of fireworks leaves the Coggin sibs well-positioned for bright futures. (Illustrations not seen.)
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish. (Adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234510-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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