A melodramatic dust-up, with ghosts aplenty and a Dickensian flavor.
Ominous signs that murderous Battersea Power Station owner Tabatha Margate is staging a comeback lead to a rematch with former child worker and part-time ghost Luke Smith-Sharma.
Actually, Londoner Luke has multiple foes to face in this sequel to Ghostcloud (2022)—notably the corrupt and treacherous mayor of London and the hostile Ghost Council, which wants him permanently dead instead of only sometimes. But Tabatha is by far the scariest threat, and eerie glimpses of her shadow lead through noxious, bone-strewn sewers to a smugglers’ haven, followed by a nighttime Channel crossing into enemy territory and a dismaying revelation about her nefarious schemes to exploit Luke’s ghostly skills. Fortunately, he not only still has several sturdy allies from the opener, but also new ones in his friend Ravi’s hostile but helpful big sister, Radhika, and even Terence, once (and maybe still) Tabatha’s right-hand man but now seemingly willing to turn over a new leaf. Along with that sewer crawl, a later trip in a crate of smelly cheese, and several massive explosions, Mann tucks much exhilarating zooming about on clouds (which is how ghosts get around) into this crowd-pleasing adventure and caps the lot with a last-tick save of everyone in London, both living and not so much. Names and the previous volume establish ethnic diversity in the cast.
A melodramatic dust-up, with ghosts aplenty and a Dickensian flavor. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781682636602
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
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
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
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