Lovable and energetic characters power this wonderfully diverting story.
In this installment of Whatever’s middle-grade fantasy series, a tween girl unravels a mysterious past and aims to thwart a villain’s fiendish plot.
Sam, a girl who has experienced the wonders of an alternate magical dimension called the Under-Under World,doesn’t know what to make of the “jelly bubbles” that pop up on the little beach near her home. Each contains an image—one depicts an unknown girl in tears. With help from her great uncle (“Gruncle”), a renowned scientist caring for her and her little brother, Darby, while their guardian aunt is away, Sam learns that these bubbles have somehow captured images from the past. They may be able to tell Sam what exactly happened on the sinking ship in the incident that killed the siblings’ parents years ago. Meanwhile, The Sister, Sam’s enemy from her visits to the Under-Under World (the “most magical place ever”) is on Earth, plotting and spying on Sam. The nefarious woman, who loves jelly donuts and explosions, hopes Sam will lead her to the secret passage to Under-Under (she’s brewing an evil plan that Sam must nip in the bud, as it entails obliterating the Earth aboveground). As in the preceding installments, Whatever’s third series outing shines with a zestful cast: The Sister’s multilayered scheme includes confusing Sam and Gruncle for sheer psychological torment; time-obsessed Gruncle fills the siblings’ home with clocks; and Sam’s Under-Under friend, Boyo, communicates by “wiggling his fingers.” While indisputable peril looms over both the aboveground and Under-Under, humor continues to drive the series. This novel’s villain, for example, isn’t particularly good at snooping, as she leaves copious evidence of her presence including an empty jelly-donut box and the lingering aroma of cyanide (her best-loved fragrance). The author rounds out this tale with educational morsels (linking the bubbles to falling debris from a Ghost Moon consisting of orbiting clouds of dust) and mystery, as Sam vows to solve her parents’ unexplained deaths.
Lovable and energetic characters power this wonderfully diverting story.Pub Date: July 24, 2023
ISBN: 9798852896841
Page Count: 233
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fiercely feisty and unapologetically goofy.
Three young girls are tasked with saving their town from a vicious worm.
This romp from actor McKinnon introduces the three Porch girls: Gertrude, age 12 and three-quarters, Eugenia, age 12 and one-eighth, and Dee-Dee, age 11. Cared for by Aunt Desdemona and Uncle Ansel (along with their seven cousins, who are all named Lavinia), they’re forced to live in a ramshackle shed at the edge of the property. In a classic turn of events, the sisters are invited to a new school run by a certain Millicent Quibb. Under Quibb’s eccentric tutelage, the trio learn that the nefarious Krenetics Research Association, hoping to release their founder, Talon Sharktūth, from his vault, has bred a Kyrgalops, a vicious stone- and puppy-chomping worm, which may destroy their entire town. McKinnon’s middle-grade debut is grandiosely silly, reminiscent of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events in both its sesquipedalian language and tone and in relying heavily on its bespoke lexicon, verbal gymnastics, and cheeky footnotes to deliver jokes. Interspersed throughout are bits of visual interest—poems and songs, schematics, and bits of correspondence. Though the action rockets along at a Pixy Stix–fueled pace, many questions are left unanswered or unaddressed, making this series opener exposition heavy and a bit frustrating. Still, readers will ultimately be left hopeful that subsequent volumes will offer something meatier. The illustrations cue some diversity of skin tone among the characters.
Fiercely feisty and unapologetically goofy. (map, afterword, appendices) (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780316554732
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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