A firmly tongue-in-cheek series hits its stride as Josh cuts out his earlier foot-dragging and shows signs of becoming an...
Thanks to two young biblionauts and the alien transporter they snatched in the series opener, a weary writer finds both terror and inspiration in the fantasy world where his own novels are set.
Taking advantage of a school visit (plus the series premise that all “fiction” is actually real, somewhere) Josh and his pushy little sister, Maggie, engineer a trip to swords-and-sorcery “Wyrd World” with its nerdy but willing author/creator P.L. Cuthbertson. Unfortunately, Cuthbertson is immediately captured and hustled off to a dungeon. Fortunately, Josh has just reread the entire series and so knows of a secret entrance….And so it goes through multiple escapes from places like Gaurgum and the Mines of Karfax, plus encounters with “six-foot-long, puke-colored slugs” called Ouliths and other locals. Service pokes a little writerly fun as she goes (“news flash: famous authors snore”) and relies with comical frequency on Josh’s polka-dotted alien pet dit-dit to leap chasms or do whatever else is needed to expedite the plot whenever it hits a snag. She delivers her three travelers home at last, exhilarated and ready for sequels—both real and (in Cuthbertson’s case) the virtual, armchair sort.
A firmly tongue-in-cheek series hits its stride as Josh cuts out his earlier foot-dragging and shows signs of becoming an adrenalin junkie like his sister. (Science fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7613-7920-1
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Darby Creek
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
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
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