A thoroughly enjoyable and exceedingly intelligent novel.
In Cricket’s middle-grade novel, a young English boy is sent to live with the American father he’s never known and finds himself immersed military intrigue.
After Kai Flynn’s mother dies, he’s raised by his Gran in London; when she checks herself into a “looney bin,” he has no choice but to decamp for the United States to live with his father, United States Air Force Sgt. Steven Flynn. They don’t exactly hit it off—Steven is imperiously authoritarian and all but immediately forces Kai to shear his unruly hair, and Kai is a peace-loving vegetarian, an incongruence comically captured by the author. However, they do bond over robotics; Steven builds them for the military, and Kai takes to constructing one of his own for a school project in a sweet homage to his “warrior dad.” Kai receives a package from someone named Fred—he doesn’t know anyone by that name—containing a USB flash drive that, when plugged into his computer, brings his rudimentary robot to vivid, talking life. Shortly after, Steven vanishes, and the scared boy is interrogated by the FBI and informed that Sgt. Flynn is AWOL. Joined by his friends Sandy and Carlos, Kai discovers that Fred is really “FRRED,” an acronym for Federal Rapid Response Electronic Defense, a semi-autonomous military weapon equipped with advanced machine-learning capabilities. The author here artfully combines a youthful adventure story (and a very funny one at that) with a tale of political malfeasance. Cricket deftly navigates familial drama and thrilling espionage beats as the youthful trio try to track down Kai’s father (who is, in essence, also FRRED’s dad). FRRED the robot is exuberantly unhinged, a machine tired of being reduced to his programming. (“I only want to be free to be me. Isn’t that what everyone wants?”) Young readers, and their parents, will delight in this lightsome but thoughtful yarn.
A thoroughly enjoyable and exceedingly intelligent novel.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9798991155038
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Cosmic Turtle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
After Castro’s takeover, nine-year-old Julian and his older brothers are sent away by their fearful parents via “Operation Pedro Pan” to a camp in Miami for Cuban-exile children. Here he discovers that a ruthless bully has essentially been put in charge. Julian is quicker-witted than his brothers or anyone else ever imagined, though, and with his inherent smarts, developing maturity and the help of child and adult friends, he learns to navigate the dynamics of the camp and surroundings and grows from the former baby of the family to independence and self-confidence. A daring rescue mission at the end of the novel will have readers rooting for Julian even as it opens his family’s eyes to his courage and resourcefulness. This autobiographical novel is a well-meaning, fast-paced and often exciting read, though at times the writing feels choppy. It will introduce readers to a not-so-distant period whose echoes are still felt today and inspire admiration for young people who had to be brave despite frightening and lonely odds. (Historical fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59643-168-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
This can’t be the last we ever hear of the Legendary Alston Boys of the purely surreal Logan County—imaginative,...
Can this really be the first time readers meet the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County? Cousins and veteran sleuths Otto and Sheed Alston show us that we are the ones who are late to their greatness.
These two black boys are coming to terms with the end of their brave, heroic summer at Grandma’s, with a return to school just right around the corner. They’ve already got two keys to the city, but the rival Epic Ellisons—twin sisters Wiki and Leen—are steadily gaining celebrity across Logan County, Virginia, and have in hand their third key to the city. No way summer can end like this! These young people are powerful, courageous, experienced adventurers molded through their heroic commitment to discipline and deduction. They’ve got their shared, lifesaving maneuvers committed to memory (printed in a helpful appendix) and ready to save any day. Save the day they must, as a mysterious, bendy gentleman and an oversized, clingy platypus have been unleashed on the city of Fry, and all the residents and their belongings seem to be frozen in time and place. Will they be able to solve this one? With total mastery, Giles creates in Logan County an exuberant vortex of weirdness, where the commonplace sits cheek by jowl with the utterly fantastic, and populates it with memorable characters who more than live up to their setting.
This can’t be the last we ever hear of the Legendary Alston Boys of the purely surreal Logan County—imaginative, thrill-seeking readers, this is a series to look out for. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-46083-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Versify/HMH
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
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