A solid trilogy closer for returning fans.
A whiz-kid inventor and his ragtag crew must save the world from aliens…again.
It’s unclear why Ferrous City is a “hotbed of alien activity,” but Ethan Fairmount knows that he can’t tell his parents about any of it—especially not about another potential alien attack just a few months after the last. And even as he turns to his friends instead, he still doesn’t initially tell them the whole truth about his beloved and now-missing guinea pig, Nugget. Ethan is scared and in over his head when he reaches out via walkie-talkie to the squad—his oldest friend, Kareem, inventive Fatima, creatively inclined Jodie, siblings RJ and Di (the latter of whom Ethan has a huge, not-so-secret crush on), and loyal new friend Juan Carlos. The narrative jumps right into the adventure as the ranks of aliens grow—both the good guys accompanying small, purple, six-eyed Cheese and the world-destroying reptilian light-thieves. Ethan eventually needs to add his big brothers to the hero squad, a move that draws attention to his habit of keeping secrets from those closest to him. Ultimately, the bumbling, one-dimensional alien villains who seemingly barely understand their own nefarious goals and technology stand no chance against an abundance of clever, sometimes snarky, and increasingly tight-knit young Black and brown humans and their alien companions. The path to a happy ending relies just as much on realizing how invaluable friendship is as it does on sheer luck.
A solid trilogy closer for returning fans. (Science fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781454947134
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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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