This effort will especially appeal to readers of Saving Zasha, but those who enjoy historical fiction will also find it to...
In a prequel to Saving Zasha (2011), Barrow provides a mildly harrowing depiction of life in Russia during World War II.
Speaking in a plausible first-person voice, 12-year-old Ivan, a talented concertina player, begins the war living in Leningrad. Conditions swiftly deteriorate as the Germans both bomb and lay siege to the city. After his mother is sent to work in a distant factory, Ivan escapes across a frozen lake with Auntie, his wise elderly neighbor. In swift succession he joins the partisans, then deliberately—planning to work as a spy—attracts the attention of a sadistic Nazi, Maj. Axel, who keeps him in his headquarters to provide musical diversion. Axel owns a pair of German shepherd puppies that he's planning to brutalize into becoming virtual bloodhounds, hoping to use them to track down Russians. Ivan is determined to steal the dogs; surprisingly, he convinces the partisans to help. Parts of this tale are remarkably suspenseful, especially the escape across the frozen lake and Ivan’s scheming at the German headquarters as he puts his plan into place. At other times, especially near the conclusion, the effects of the war become muted, lessening both the impact and the believability of the story.
This effort will especially appeal to readers of Saving Zasha, but those who enjoy historical fiction will also find it to be an engaging read. (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-45218-2
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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