A winsome tween protagonist steers this fun, quiet fantasy.
In this middle-grade debut and series launch, an orphan girl stuck in a subterranean world searches for a way home.
Sam has an awful lot of responsibilities for a 12-year-old. She cares for her little brother, Darby, who needs meds for recurring fevers, and for their guardian, Aunt C, who seemingly has bouts of dementia. One day, as a storm hits their North American town, the earth shakes, and Sam falls through a crack in the ground. Though initially alone in a gloomy, dank place, she quickly befriends others who tell her she’s in Under-Under. The leader down here, the Great Hildinski, surely can help Sam get back home, but this radiant, wooden-legged woman seems convinced that the tween stranger is a thief. Indeed, someone has stolen a “slice” of Under-Under’s solar-powered sun. Once Sam decides that recovering this sun piece will win over the Great Hildinski, she teams up with new friends as well as Darby and her cat, Gemini, who’ve somehow wound up belowground, too. But the thieves, who are also stealing Under-Under’s precious water, make a frightening bunch. Whatever’s short opening installment has a wonderful young hero. Sam is smart and softhearted, even when her family frustrates her. She’s witty, too, as when a character questions her courage with, “I thought you had some spunk,” and she retorts, in effect: Spunk, yes. Death wish, no. The story spotlights Sam’s journey as she picks up some helpful skills and periodically returns to the world above as an influential general threatens her country. Supporting characters entertain, particularly Darby and Gemini, who make the most of their occasional appearances. The author’s rough, almost childlike artwork flaunts a dark but colorful palette, making simple depictions of wolves and fish catch readers’ eyes. The ending, sadly, is a bit anticlimactic, though a sequel follows.
A winsome tween protagonist steers this fun, quiet fantasy.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77731-968-7
Page Count: 204
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at and references to children’s book titles, this solid, tightly plotted read...
When a lock-in becomes a reality game, 12-year-old Kyle Keeley and his friends use library resources to find their way out of Alexandriaville’s new public library.
The author of numerous mysteries for children and adults turns his hand to a puzzle adventure with great success. Starting with the premise that billionaire game-maker Luigi Lemoncello has donated a fortune to building a library in a town that went without for 12 years, Grabenstein cleverly uses the tools of board and video games—hints and tricks and escape hatches—to enhance this intricate and suspenseful story. Twelve 12-year-old winners of an essay contest get to be the first to see the new facility and, as a bonus, to play his new escape game. Lemoncello’s gratitude to the library of his childhood extends to providing a helpful holographic image of his 1968 librarian, but his modern version also includes changing video screens, touch-screen computers in the reading desks and an Electronic Learning Center as well as floor-to-ceiling bookshelves stretching up three stories. Although the characters, from gamer Kyle to schemer Charles Chiltington, are lightly developed, the benefits of pooling strengths to work together are clear.
Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at and references to children’s book titles, this solid, tightly plotted read is a winner for readers and game-players alike. (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: June 25, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-87089-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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